CHICAGO – This wasn’t a typical series for the Cubs and their fans thanks to someone that was in the first base dugout.
Kris Bryant’s return to Chicago made this three-game series with the Giants at Wrigley Field quite unique, with the franchise and fans welcoming back a key member of the team’s 2016 World Series championship team.
It started on Friday with an emotional, tearful return for the four-time All-Star, 2015 Rookie of the Year, and 2016 National League MVP to the “Friendly Confines.” Standing ovations happened on that day and throughout the weekend when Bryant would make his way to the plate.
In the homecoming, Bryant would go 4-for-12 with two walks, an RBI, and five runs scored, raising his average to .271 in the 35 games since joining San Francisco through a trade on July 30th.
While his return brought with it plenty of emotions and memories, the former Cubs’ core member helped to put his new team a little closer to the best record in the National League.
The Giants rolled past the Cubs in the first two games of the series by a combined scores of 21-5 before holding onto win 6-5 on Sunday to pull off the sweep. Manager David Ross returned from his COVID-19 quarantine in time to manage the finale as he watched the club finish their ten-game homestand 6-4.
As Bryant looks forward to making the playoffs for the sixth time in his seven-year MLB career, the Cubs will wind down a disappointing season that still has 18 games to go. They’ll be away from Wrigley Field for the next week as they face the Phillies, who are in Wild Card contention, then the Brewers, who are inching closer to an NL Central title.
The role of spoilers isn’t something the Cubs have played much over the past decade, but that’s what they are as they and their former star go separate ways for the rest of the 2021 season.