The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 20-9 on Tuesday night, and they followed it up with a 16-6 victory on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.
Do the math, and that comes out to 36 runs for the Cubs over two games. That’s good for the most runs the Cubs have scored over a two-game span since 1897, when they scored 43 runs. Additionally, the Cubs’ 12 home runs are the most over a two-game span since at least 1901.
The Cubs are also the first team in MLB history to have at least 10 extra-base hits and at least five home runs in consecutive games.
A huge reason for the success over the two days is the addition of Jeimer Candelario. The Cubs acquired Candelario — who came up in Chicago’s system and was part of its 2016 team that went on to win the World Series — in a trade-deadline deal with the Washington Nationals on Monday.
In Candelario’s two games since the trade, he’s 8-for-9 with a walk. That performance makes MLB history, as explained by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers:
Here are more reactions to the Cubs making history:
Oh, and these were two hugely important wins for the Cubs in the NL Central race. The Cubs (55-53) have pulled to within three games of the first-place Reds. On July 20, the Cubs were 8.5 games back of first place with a 45-51 record.