The first home run carried two men with it. Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong were on base when Alex Bregman put a fly ball into left-center — his 14th of the year, a three-run shot.
He had already walked twice. Suzuki moved to second on the first one. Then the walks stopped, and the home runs started.
The second went to left field, and Suzuki scored. The third went back to left-center, and Suzuki scored again. Three swings, seven runs batted in. Bregman had three hits on the night, and all three left the park.
Bregman is the 11th man to go deep three times in a single game this season. What stands out is how little violence the night required. Nothing left his bat harder than 98.4 mph. No ball traveled farther than 397 feet. Those are solid line-drive numbers — not contact that empties a dugout before the ball lands. Bregman did not overpower the park. He got three pitches he could turn on, turned on all three, and sent each one to the same part of the yard.
The Cubs won 12-6 at Nationals Park. Five trips to the plate: two walks, three home runs.
