Just a sip: Swanson's ritual among Cubs' keys to winning

CHICAGO – In the wake of a series loss on the road to the Mets, the Cubs welcomed the return home to their rowdy Wrigley Field audience. So far this season, the North Siders have enjoyed the energy in the old ballpark when opening a new series.

“Winning the first game in any series is huge,” Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “That’s been something that’s been key for us, especially at home. We obviously love playing here. We love playing in front of our fans and being able to put on good performances.”

On Monday night, the Cubs pulled off a 5-2 victory over the Marlins to begin this three-game set and six-game homestand. The win gave Chicago a 7-1 record in series openers at home this season. That includes a 7-0 showing at Wrigley Field (the lone defeat being in the Tokyo Series in March).

Here were three key elements to Monday’s win over Miami:

1. Rea works into the seventh

The Cubs knew they would need a next-man-up mentality at times this season, but losing both Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga to injuries has been a tough blow to the rotation. Fortunately for Chicago, veteran righty Colin Rea has been holding things together as one of the solutions.

In his sixth start for the Cubs, Rea logged 6 2/3 innings and built up to 98 pitches in the win. He exited to a standing ovation, but had a hard time soaking it in after allowing a two-run homer to Derek Hill as his final pitch.

“It feels good,” Rea said of the crowd’s response to his effort. “But I was definitely a little frustrated with the way it ended. But, it feels good.”

Per Statcast, Rea featured seven different pitches in the outing, but leaned mostly on his four-seamer, cutter and curve. He finished with six hits scattered, struck out four and issued two walks, while heading off the field with a 2.48 ERA on the year.

“When you lose a couple of your best starters for a while,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, “length is something that you maybe lose. So a night like tonight resets your bullpen a little bit. We got a really good effort. Getting into the seventh inning … is a big deal.”

2. Swanson sparks another rally

A few weeks ago, infielder Nicky Lopez offered Swanson a sip of his energy drink before a game. It has become a pregame ritual of sorts, as the Cubs' shortstop has seen his offensive production spike of late.

“It’s literally one small, small sip from Nicky Lo,” Swanson said with a laugh. “That’s the key – I’m telling you. It’s the key.”

In the fifth inning, Swanson drilled a 3-1 fastball from Marlins starter Cal Quantrill into the left-field bleachers to spot Rea a 2-0 lead. Miguel Amaya followed with a double, Kyle Tucker tripled and Seiya Suzuki added a two-run blast of his own to up the outburst to five runs by the end of the frame.

Swanson ended with two hits in the win, giving him a .422/.480/.800 slash line in his last 13 games, which have included five homers, nine RBIs and 12 runs scored. The shortstop had four homers to go along with a .577 OPS in his previous 29 games this season.

Maybe that pregame energy sip is helping, but Swanson knows where the credit actually belongs.

“I just give so much credit to the work that I’ve been putting in [the hitting coaches],” Swanson said. “Their ability to keep me in a good place and continue to just challenge me in my everyday work has really been the key to all this. I’m very appreciative.”

3. Palencia, Pomeranz lock things down

After the Mets struck for four late runs against the Cubs’ bullpen on Sunday – leading to a series loss in New York – righty Daniel Palencia and lefty Drew Pomeranz avoided any drama on Monday night.

The hard-throwing Palencia recorded four outs after Rea’s departure and now has a 1.38 ERA in 11 games for the Cubs this year. The veteran Pomeranz closed things out in the ninth for his first MLB save since Aug. 11, 2020, and now has a 0.00 ERA in eight games since arriving in Chicago.

“Daniel’s in a really good place right now,” Counsell said. “He’s an important guy taking a big step forward. He’s been in some big spots. … And Drew, since we got Drew, he’s just been pounding the zone. That’s probably what you like best, is it’s just a lot of strikes.”