DENVER — For a Cubs offense that has been trying to regain the type of consistent power and production displayed early this season, maybe the current trip to Coors Field arrived at the right time. It is an environment ripe for taking big swings and boosting the collective morale of a slumping lineup.
The North Siders will certainly hope that is the result of their victory over the Rockies on Friday night.
In an 11-7 victory, the Cubs turned the page on their recent sweep at the hands of the Giants with an outpouring of offense.
Dansby Swanson and Michael Busch provided some prodigious home runs to back another strong start from Chicago rookie Cade Horton, maintaining the Cubs’ hold on the National League’s top Wild Card spot and the 6 1/2-game gap behind the NL Central-leading Brewers.
“You kind of just hope that days like this are kind of starting the upward trajectory again as we go into September,” Swanson said. “Because this group has obviously proven that it’s capable of so many things offensively and just as a unit. Tonight was a good one and a good step, hopefully, in the right direction.
“If we just continue to roll with that rhythm, it’ll be a fun month ahead.”
Swanson launched a pair of homers — a two-run drive off Germán Márquez in the second inning and a solo shot off Antonio Senzatela in the seventh — for his first multihomer performance since Aug. 1, 2023. The Cubs’ shortstop also delivered a three-run triple to highlight a six-run flurry in the fifth.
In the process, Swanson joined Cubs icons Andre Dawson (June 2, 1987) and Billy Williams (May 19, 1971) as the only players in team history with at least two homers, a triple and six RBIs in a single game.
“It’s a good night,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “There’s no question, somebody like Dansby has a night like this and he feels pretty good walking to the box tomorrow. There’s no question about that. This is a place where you just have to put constant pressure on the other team.”
Busch belted a towering blast to right field off Senzatela in the seventh that soared a projected 466 feet, per Statcast. That marked the longest homer for a Cubs hitter since Busch sent one 468 feet in Coors Field on Sept. 15 last season.
Ian Happ also cleared the fence for the Cubs, whose 10 extra-base hits were their second-most in a game this season (behind only 11 on the road against the A’s on March 31). The 11 runs scored came after the North Siders had managed 12 runs total in the previous four games combined.
Happ said coming to Coors Field undoubtedly offers a confidence boost for hitters.
“There’s a lot of grass out there,” Happ said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. People talk about how well it flies, and it does – there’s some balls that get to the wall that wouldn’t — but I think there’s just a lot of places to get hits. So kind of mentally, I think it’s a little bit freeing.”
The pile of run support was more than sufficient for the 24-year-old Horton, who limited the Rockies to two runs (both via a homer by Yanquiel Fernández) over five innings. The righty had yielded two runs in all over his previous seven starts combined. His outing gave him a 1.34 ERA over his last 10 turns for the Cubs.
Horton enjoyed seeing the lineup have such a big night, too.
“It’s a really good moment to start heating up,” Horton said. “In all honesty, you don’t want to be hot the first of August. You want it late August, early September and carry that all the way up until the postseason. So, it’s good. It’s good building momentum off of that and just continue to stay the course.”
Or, as it pertains to the Cubs’ offense, the goal is to get back on course.
In the first half, Chicago averaged 5.3 runs per game with the Majors’ second-best slugging percentage (.446) and wRC+ (116). Prior to Friday’s win, the Cubs had scored 3.8 runs per game in the second half with a .373 slugging percentage (27th in MLB) and a 91 wRC+ (tied for 24th).
“Yes, you want to be clicking on all cylinders at the end of September,” Happ said. “That’s 100% accurate. But the only way you get there is just everybody staying in their process every day.”
