AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

The Rundown: Swanson Satisfies in Doubleheader Sweep, Hoyer Trades for Peterson, Cubs’ Footlong Wiener Takes Top Honors

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterJune 25, 2026

“Two years, seven months and sixteen days. Now I’m back on the street in a purple haze… And I feel so good I’m gonna make somebody pay tonight.” – I Feel So Good by Richard Thompson

I’ve never written a Rundown between games of a doubleheader, but I did start this one after Dansby Swanson finally escaped the Möbius loop that has been his season-long slump. Swanson plated seven runners in Game 1 with two home runs and is now hitting .467 with three taters and 17 RBI since I wrote he’d never break the Mendoza line this summer. He alone powered the team to a decisive 10-3 win over the hapless Mets, striking yet another blow to the bottomless Gotham pockets of team owner Steve Cohen.

Swanson then went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a stolen base in the nightcap, elevating his average to .202 for the first time since April 25 in the 10-5 win. He has 15 RBI in three games against the Mets, and I promise that’s not a typo. Always a streaky hitter, Swanson should be a cinch to earn Player of the Week honors on Monday.

By the way, it must really suck to be a Mets fan. That is, unless you’re following the Norwegian team in this year’s World Cup. The Flushing franchise has carried more curses in 65 years of existence than the Cubs have in twice the time. Jimmy Piersall hit his 100th home run while playing for the Mets and ran the bases backward. Matt Harvey once injured himself by waiting too long to relieve his kidneys. The organization reconfigured the stadium in 2012 and again in 2015 because they couldn’t score runs, only to watch opponents treat their pitchers like Chuck Wepner’s jaw. Ahh yes, the Bayonne Bleeder.

Some even say Bill Buckner cursed them because the 1986 team won the World Series thanks to a fluke groundball. Red Sox fans would like a word, while Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley probably prefer to plead the fifth.

Heck, Kenny Rogers walked in the winning run that gave the 1999 Braves the NL pennant. There was the stunning 2007 collapse ($), which was promptly followed by the 2008 collapse. They traded Pete Crow-Armstrong to the Cubs for six weeks of Javier Báez, and the 35-year buyout that Bobby Bonilla signed in 2000 has outlasted three owners. The Mets were 45-24 (.652) a little over a year ago, boasting the best record in baseball. They’re 72-102 (.414) since. Smile, because it’s not too tough being a Cubs fan in contrast.

I’m also going to take some credit for Swanson’s turnaround. I’m certainly no Skip Bayless, but I have been known to similarly rub people the wrong way with my posts. Usually, readers disappear from the comments section for a spell or two, but who knows? Perhaps someone told Swanson I was dogging him. I played baseball and know firsthand how tough it is to hit a curveball. Luckily, I didn’t have to do it in front of 40,000 spectators and a few hundred thousand television viewers. Do I have room to talk? No, I do not, but that’s never stopped me.

The Cubs can sweep the Mets on Thursday before heading to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers, where they’ll run up against Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, and Brandon Woodruff. Give me the Cubs in a sweep if they beat New York today and Lt. Dansby continues to steamroll opposing pitchers. Bold? Hell yeah…but I’ve been right before, and the Cubs are just as streaky as their shortstop.

Cubs News & Notes

  • To say Swanson has dominated the Mets is something of an understatement.
  • PCA had an RBI bunt that went over the head of third baseman Bo Bichette, scoring Pedro Ramírez.
  • Here’s the video, in case you missed it.
  • The Cubs acquired a starting pitcher from the Mets, but it wasn’t Freddy Peralta. Jed Hoyer grabbed LHP David Peterson instead, surrendering infield prospect Cole Mathis in the deal. Peterson, a groundball specialist, owned a 2.83 ERA on August 6, 2025 through 21 starts. Since then, he has a 6.98 ERA in 17 starts and eight relief appearances.
  • Hoyer is still standing at a terrifying crossroads despite acquiring Peterson. Matthew Boyd is coming off the IL to pitch today, but Craig Counsell has yet to name one starter for the weekend tilts with the Brewers. Peterson will likely get the call in one of the games.
  • The Brewers bullpen is really struggling, so it would behoove the Cubs to see as many pitches as possible against Milwaukee’s starters this weekend.
  • By the way, the Mets committed six errors in the Game 2 loss to Chicago. Peterson is considered a groundball pitcher, so he must be elated about the trade.
  • The Cubs are still believed to be in the market for top-end arms, particularly those under control beyond this year.
  • Swanson’s efforts are part of an offensive resurgence by the team’s hitters. After scoring more than three runs just nine times between May 9 and June 10 (29 games), they’ve done it in 10 of their last 12 games. They’ve scored 29 runs in three games against the Mets, and are now 6-0 vs. New York this season.
  • Chicago added some pitching depth by claiming Bryse Wilson from the Phillies. The team DFA’d Christian Roa in the corresponding move.
  • The Cubs organization has earned a good reputation among MLB players ($), ranking third behind the Dodgers and Yankees. Those who were polled cited the way that the team treats its players’ families.

Hungry-Man

  1. Swanson is the first Cub to tally four or more RBI in three straight games. What will he do for an encore?
  2. He’s also the first MLB player to reach 15 RBI in a series since 2016, when Danny Espinosa of the Nationals tallied as many against the Reds from June 30-July 3.
  3. His 11 RBI on Wednesday were the most by a Cub in a doubleheader, surpassing the previous high of 10 set by Ron Santo on July 6, 1970, against the Expos.
  4. Swanson is the first shortstop in MLB history with 15 RBI in a three-game span, passing the previous high by Nomar Garciaparra (14) in 1999.
  5. Swanson now leads the Cubs in RBI on the season, passing Seiya Suzuki (31), Nico Hoerner (35), Ian Happ (37), Crow-Armstrong (44), and Michael Busch (44).

Ball Four

Keith Hernandez sounds like he is just finding out how good PCA is. Welcome to the party, pal.

Central Intelligence

How About That!

MLB and Little League launched an exclusive ticket sweepstakes for this year’s Little League Classic game between the Braves and Brewers at historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, PA.

Labor relations experts believe fans shouldn’t overreact to CBA negotiations ($) this early in the process. Both sides are expected to build their cases slowly.

Few players enjoy consistent success against Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal, but Paul Goldschmidt is one of them.

The Red Sox are on a pace to win 66 games and, along with the Mets, could be one of the first teams to start trading veterans.

Mookie Betts might be the first MLB player to bowl a perfect game of 300 and also have 300 career homers.

The White Sox will celebrate the 1983 Winning Ugly team this weekend. Anything to bring Tony La Russa back, I suppose.

Extra Innings

All Dansby, all the time.

Kiki Cuyler was the last Cubs player to drive in 15 or more runs in one series. Cuyler did it in five games against the Giants in 1932, and Swanson has another game against the Mets today.

They Said It

  • “The conversations are certainly happening. You talk to teams about pitching. Usually, at this time of year, (talks) are still on the smaller side of those transactions. The major moves and significant transactions that people would talk about are much more likely to happen post All-Star Break or even closer to the deadline.” – Hoyer
  • “I’ll go through [Chicago’s lineup] and see who’s hot. PCA has changed his heat map a little bit, so you’ll look at that. But it’s team to team. You maybe focus on a few guys who hit you well the last time and go from there.” – Misiorowski

Thursday Walk-Up Song

Stay hungry, Mr. Swanson.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterJune 25, 2026
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