Swanson Erupts for 2 HR, 7 RBI as Cubs Rout Mets 10-3
Dansby Swanson went 2-for-4 with two home runs and seven RBI, single-handedly dismantling the Mets in a 10-3 Cubs victory on June 24. The story of the night was a six-run swing built almost entirely on Swanson's bat — a performance that looks like one of the more dominant individual efforts of the season.
New York actually looked sharp early. Jared Young launched a 405-foot shot to left center, scoring Bichette, and Francisco Alvarez followed with a 437-foot blast to center — the longest ball of the night — to put the Mets up 3-0 after four innings. The Cubs were down, and with the Mets holding a 53% win probability heading into the sixth, this game appeared to be trending toward a New York win. It didn't stay that way for long.
Chicago chipped away in the fifth. Michael Conforto doubled to left, scoring Crow-Armstrong, and then Michael Busch crushed a 398-foot homer to right, plating Conforto and knotting the game at 3. That set the stage for the moment that broke New York's back: Swanson stepped up in the sixth and drove a 400-foot shot to center, scoring Hoerner and Amaya with it. The win probability swung from 53% to 15% on that single swing — a 38-point collapse for the Mets in one at-bat. Chicago led 6-3, and it was effectively over.
Swanson wasn't done. In the eighth, he hit his second homer of the night — 418 feet to left center — this time a three-run shot that scored Happ, Hoerner, and Amaya to push the final to 10-3. On the mound, Javier Assad gave Chicago five innings, allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts. Tyler Ferguson then locked things down with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts, and Caleb Thielbar finished with a clean inning of his own. Nolan McLean took the loss for New York, surrendering 6 earned runs on 7 hits over 6 innings despite striking out 9 — a line that looks like a pitcher who had his stuff but ran into a buzzsaw named Swanson. The Mets, who have been dealing with a string of setbacks this series including Juan Soto exiting Tuesday's game early, appear to be a team running out of ways to stay afloat.