Inside The Cubs

Seiya Suzuki Achieves Rare Home Run Feat In Cubs Series Opener vs Padres

The Chicago Cubs outfielder made history with unexpected long ball given his current streak.
Scott Conrad|
David Banks-Imagn Images

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The Chicago Cubs opened up the first of a best-of-three series against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. Matthew Boyd took the mound at Wrigley Field as the dueling pitcher was Nick Pivetta.

Thanks to a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals last weekend, the Cubs get to enjoy hosting each game of the NL Wild Card Round. Part of the reason why Chicago swept their NL Central Division rival is because of the hot bat from their starting right fielder, Seiya Suzuki.

In the regular season's last four games, Suzuki hit a home run in each of them, including a two home run performance in the series finale against the New York Mets. All five of the right fielder's home runs were launched at Wrigley Field.

Suzuki joined some great company of solid hitters by entering a playoff series on a four-game home run streak. Mike Schmidt did it in 1980, George Brett did it 25 years ago in 1985, and Ryan Howard did it more recently in 2007.

Chicago Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki
David Banks-Imagn Images

Suzuki pulls off never-been-done-before feat

Neither Schmidt, Brett, nor Howard connected on a home run in that playoff series opener. And as Sarah Langs pointed on in a post on X, Suzuki set himself apart from that legendary trio when he took Pivetta deep in the bottom of the fifth inning. Of those three players before Suzuki, both Schmidt and Brett's teams went on to win the World Series in those years.

The 31-year-old athlete's solo shot tied the game up 1-1. Suzuki has now hit six home runs in the past five games. He belted a career-high 32 home runs for Chicago this year.

Since debuting with the Cubs in 2022, Suzuki's home run totals have increased every season. In his first year, he hit 14 home runs. Suzuki then followed that up with 20 home runs and 21 home runs the past two years. This season, he had 32 home runs.

Suzuki was also tied for 17th most long balls in MLB and ranked 11th with 103 RBIs. He led the Cubs in RBIs and had the second-most home runs on the team, trailing only Michael Busch, who had 34.

Prior to this streak, Suzuki had not had more than two games in a row with a home run all season. In fact, he went from August 6 until Sept 25 before hitting another bomber. The majority of the right fielder's home runs came in the first half of the season.

The Cubs are fortunate to have Suzuki get hot at the plate lately. The last time Chicago was in the playoffs (2020), they were swept by the Miami Marlins (2-0). Suzuki is surely doing his part to avoid another sweep.

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Scott Conrad
SCOTT CONRAD

Scott Conrad is a Beat Writer for Chicago Cubs On SI, part of the Sports Illustrated Network. He is also a Contributor for the Chicago Sky and Washington Wizards On SI as well as Niner Noise and The View from Avalon on FanSided. Scott grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, primarily Lombard and Naperville, Illinois, and attended Cubs games regularly when he attended Neuqua Valley High School. He graduated from Ball State University with a degree in advertising. His passion to be a sports journalist started in middle school. In 2015 & 2016, Scott was a Correspondent for the Tampa Bay Times covering high school football games. He is also a youth volleyball coach and a two-time published author.

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