The Chicago Cubs have now won their last three series and each one of them have had heart-pounding moments for every fan. They held a 6-3 lead entering the seventh inning, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the score and allowed Texas to tie the contest up at six in the eighth.
This wasn’t the first blown lead of more than three runs by Chicago’s bullpen in the young season. In each of the Sunday games that the team has played in this year, they have squandered leads that eventually turned into losses.
The first came in the series finale at Chase Field against the Diamondbacks in the opening weekend of the season where a 6-2 lead was blown in the eighth frame. The most recent crushing loss was this past Sunday at Wrigley Field when taking on the Padres where Justin Turner couldn’t secure an inning-ending double play ball in the eighth inning that allowed San Diego to take the lead.
A theme of not hanging onto leads in the eighth inning has hit the Cubs so far in 2025, but they are still in first place in the NL Central. They were able to avoid a comeback victory from the Rangers on Tuesday night thanks to one of their key cogs in the order continuing his clutch stretch at the plate.
Dansby Swanson had been clutch so far for the Chicago Cubs in 2025
Dansby Swanson’s two-run single in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s game ended up being the difference in the Cubs 10-6 victory. The veteran shortstop has been the most clutch player in Chicago’s lineup so far this season, as he is hitting .389 (7-18) when Chicago is tied in a game or trailing this year. Swanson is getting on base at a .478 clip this season in these situations while having drawn four walks and recording four RBIs.
Swanson is already a quarter of the way to his home run total from a season ago, as he has four long balls in 14 games this year. He has driven in 11 runs and his slugging numbers are trending upward compared to his previous two seasons as a Cub.
The Chicago Cubs just need consistency from Dansby Swanson
Swanson is in the third season of a seven-year deal that he inked with the Cubs in December 2022. He brings elite defense to the table everyday, with him and Nico Hoerner making up one of the best defensive middle infields in all of baseball. Swanson has played nearly 150 games in each of his first two seasons as a Cub and second-year manager Craig Counsell knows he can count on his shortstop to be available to go daily.
With the organization not relying on Swanson to be a true “star” player, the pressure is off him in a way. The acquisition of Kyle Tucker this offseason makes way for Swanson to just show up and do his part defensively while batting in the middle of the order everyday.
The power surge and clutch gene has been great to see from Swanson to begin 2025, and things could get interesting for Chicago if he can perform at this level consistently throughout the year. It was known entering the season that guys would need to step up and outperform their projections for the Cubs to have aspirations to play in October. There is no better guy to fit this mold than Swanson as a veteran to lead the charge moving forward.
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