The Chicago Cubs went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows within the span of two days.
The North Side squad treated its fans to an epic blowout win on Wednesday over the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill. The Cubs throttled the hapless Padres in a 23-3 drubbing that featured 8 Chicago home runs — nearly half of the home team’s total hits (17).
Dansby Swanson, in particular, had a legendary game. He launched three home runs for a total of 8 RBIs. He was just a two-run homer away from recording the first home run cycle in MLB history.
GRAND SLAM
— MLB (@MLB) July 1, 2026
THIRD HOMER OF THE GAME
DANSBY SWANSON IS 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/z88J0AC6vQ
The last one — a grand slam — came against a position player. But the fans at Wrigley did not care.
Anyone hoping for the same vibes during the Cubs’ next game on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals was sorely mistaken.
After recording 17 hits on Wednesday, Chicago surrendered 17 runs on 17 hits against its bitter rival. The visiting Cardinals plated two or more runs from the 2nd inning to the 6th inning.
St. Louis scored all 17 of its runs before allowing an RBI double to Alex Bregman in the bottom of the 7th inning, which turned out to be the Cubs’ lone run of the game in a 17-1 affair.
The Cubs became the first team in 132 years to win a game by 15+ runs, then lose their next game by 15+ runs.
The Cubs are the second team in MLB history to win one game by 15+ runs but then lose their next game by 15+ runs.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 3, 2026
The other was the Boston Beaneaters from September 10-11, 1894 – a 25-8 win followed by a 17-2 loss, both in Chicago against the Colts (the modern-day Cubs).
The only other time it happened was all the way back in 1894, when Babe Ruth was still a year away from being born.
