'Just showing my momma some love': Swanson delivers perfect birthday gift

PITTSBURGH -- Dansby Swanson hit a grand slam in Monday’s series opener against the Pirates. It was a huge homer in a huge offensive attack.

But Tuesday’s homer by Swanson was a little more personal -- and the perfect gift for someone special watching him in the stands.

Swanson hit a two-run homer in the Cubs’ 9-5 victory over the Pirates on Tuesday evening at PNC Park, then walked the length of the dugout to say “happy birthday” to his mom, Nancy, who watched on from the seats just above the first-base-line’s camera well.

“Thank you, baby!” she called back in response.

It was no bargain-bin gift either. Swanson’s homer traveled 421 feet to right-center field, according to Statcast, which marks his second-longest home run of the season behind a 425-foot homer in Baltimore.

“Just showing my momma some love,” Swanson said. “I hadn’t seen my folks in a while, so it was nice to be able to see them the last few days.”

Even though the 6:40 p.m. ET game time affected any birthday dinner plans they could have had, Swanson said he was able to grab breakfast with his mom and his dad, Cooter. They rarely get to spend much time together during the grind of a 162-game season, but he made sure this one of 162 was special.

The present was Swanson’s 12th of the season and his third in his past eight games. Before that, he went more than a calendar month without a homer, his last coming on July 11 -- when he hit that 425-footer against the Orioles.

However, signs of Swanson’s resurgence were being felt in that span. In his first 83 games of the season, he slugged nine homers, but only hit .209 with a .282 on-base percentage. But in his homerless stretch from July 12 through Aug. 18, he hit .283 with a .339 on-base percentage.

Now, Swanson is working to blend the two -- the big hits and the consistent hits -- and he’s making strides.

“We’ve been putting a lot of work in,” Swanson said. “The staff has been awesome putting up with me, working with me and coming to me with things, and there’s just been a lot of good dialogue back and forth. It’s nice to be able to see some results.”

Swanson’s homer wasn’t just a gift to his mom. It was a gift to a Cubs team that used the five-run fourth inning that their star shortstop capped to go over .500 (67-66) for the first time since May 28, when they were 28-27.

“We’ve become consistent, I think. We’ve played consistent enough baseball,” manager Craig Counsell said. “… “It’s production throughout the roster that’s important, and that’s how you get on stretches like this, where everybody on the roster is playing at a higher level.”

After an 18-run rout in the series opener and a nine-run showing on Tuesday, anchored by some huge homers by Swanson, he sees the offense doing its part to contribute to the surge the Cubs are trying to make in the National League Wild Card standings.

“We’ve had a lot of belief in this group,” Swanson said. “We had some tough stretches early, but I think what you’re seeing now is it’s something that we’re capable of being able to perform at a high level consistently and gotten a lot of contributions from a lot of people. A lot of young guys have really stepped up and grown their game, which has made our team deeper. Our bullpen has been outstanding. Our starters have been great for us all year.

“And I feel like the offense is finding its stride, too. So it’s definitely a fun time right now.”