The last of Dansby Swanson’s three home runs Wednesday might have been the toughest to hit out.
It came off a 43 mph eephus pitch from San Diego Padres catcher Rodolfo Duran, who was already pitching his second inning of a 23-3 win by the Chicago Cubs. Swanson took his time on it and hit it for a grand slam to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning, capping a historic day for him that included the three homers and eight RBIs — the most by a Cubs player since Sammy Sosa had nine in 2002.
“I have not gotten a hit off a position player in ages,” the shortstop said with a smile after the blowout win. “So I’ll give my best friend from back home some credit. He texted me advice [recently]. He’s a great slow pitch softball player.”