Dansby Swanson had four hits, and Jordan Wicks pitched five strong innings as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Washington Nationals 14-1 on Sunday, marking their season-high sixth consecutive win.
Isaac Paredes drove in three runs for the Cubs, who collected 18 hits in total. Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, and Miguel Amaya each added two RBIs.
The Cubs wrapped up an 8-1 road trip that included games in Miami and Pittsburgh. With a record of 71-66, the Cubs are aiming to secure an NL wild-card spot and have improved to 20-8 since July 31.
Chicago has scored 99 runs in their last 10 games.
Manager Craig Counsell said, “Up and down the lineup, we had guys doing stuff. You can’t ask for anything more on offense than we got this trip.”
On his 25th birthday, Wicks (2-2) allowed one run and four hits in his first major league game since June 14.
The left-hander was activated from the 60-day injured list after missing over two months with a right oblique strain.
Wicks commented, “It felt good to go out there and get into game shape. You can’t really mimic being on a big league field in a big league atmosphere and facing hitters like that. Everything felt great and I was happy to just settle in.”
The Nationals (61-76) fell to a season-high 15 games under .500 and were swept for the eighth time this season.
Darren Baker, son of former big league manager Dusty Baker, made his major league debut as a pinch hitter for the Nationals in the ninth inning and singled to center on the first pitch he saw.
The 25-year-old Baker was called up from Triple-A Rochester as rosters expanded to 28 players.
