In three previous at-bats, Matt Shaw put the bat on the ball. All three were hit right at defenders.
When Shaw came up to bat again in the bottom of the 10th inning with one out and a runner on third base, he knew all he needed to do was lift the ball into the air. Against hard-throwing Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, Shaw hit a ball to deep center field that was caught on the warning track — more than deep enough to score Nico Hoerner from third base with ease.
The Cubs won in walk-off fashion, 1-0, on Thursday at Wrigley Field to close out a three-game sweep of the Guardians. It still wasn’t a base hit for Shaw, but the rookie third baseman will take it if it means the Cubs win.
“I definitely knew off the bat,” Shaw said. “Obviously, a great win for us tonight in a really close game and just a really exciting moment for me.”
Here are three takeaways from the Cubs’ first series sweep since May.
1. The rookies provided the heroics in Thursday’s finale.
Cubs third baseman Matt Shaw, center, is congratulated after hitting a game-winning RBI sacrifice fly ball for a 1-0 win over the Guardians in ten innings at Wrigley Field on July 3, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
On a first-place team full of star power, it was the rookies who provided the spark Thursday in front of 38,450 fans at Wrigley Field.
Cubs rookie right-hander Cade Horton pitched perhaps the best game of his young career so far. Horton threw seven scoreless innings, allowing five hits and two walks, while striking out five.
Considering that Horton allowed 10 earned runs in his last two starts combined, it was a significant turnaround. During his previous outing, the Houston Astros tagged him for seven earned runs in four innings.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell commended Horton for his mental approach following a bad outing.
“That’s what this is all about,” Counsell said. “It’s about making adjustments. It’s about leaving it behind you and staying in the present and not letting it carry over. And it’s learning from failures or things you don’t do well.”
Thursday night was a much-needed confidence boost for the Cubs’ 2022 first-round draft pick.
Photos: Chicago Cubs complete the 3-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians at Wrigley Field
“It’s huge,” Horton said. “Success builds confidence and so just continue building on that. Enjoy it today, but tomorrow it’s back to work.”
The bullpen did its job, too, after Horton left the game. Right-hander Ryan Brasier made a huge out against Cleveland slugger José Ramírez with two runners on in the eighth inning, getting Ramírez to fly out to center. Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless ninth and Chris Flexen avoided any damage in the top of the 10th.
That set up Shaw for the walk-off.
It’s been an up-and-down month for Shaw, who has played well defensively but hasn’t been consistent at the plate. Midway through the game on Thursday, he abandoned his bat in favor of teammate Michael Busch’s.
Shaw used Busch’s bat to hit the game-winning sacrifice fly.
“I just hit a couple balls and my bat didn’t feel great,” Shaw said. “Felt a little soft. So I ended up borrowing Busch’s bat.”
2. After an up-and-down June, a sweep kicks off July.
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Cade Horton throws against the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning at Wrigley Field on July 3, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
With not many days off and some tough opponents on the schedule, the Cubs finished the month of June 13-13. It was good enough to stay atop the National League Central division, but they failed to give themselves much breathing room ahead of games against the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers.
Then they returned to Wrigley Field and kicked off July with a three-game sweep against the Guardians.
“I know that’s a little greedy, but it’s been a while since we swept because that’s not easy to do,” Counsell said. “Your job is to be consistent and play good baseball. However the streaks come, however the wins come, it doesn’t really matter, just win games. These seasons are long. There’s going to be losing streaks. There’s going to be winning streaks. It’s really just show up the next day and play right, play well together, improve and that’s the mantra.”
It was the team’s first sweep since taking three straight from the Colorado Rockies in late May at Wrigley.
All three Cubs starting pitchers came up big during the series. On Tuesday, Matthew Boyd pitched seven innings and allowed just two earned runs. A day later, making just his second start since a return from injury, Shota Imanaga allowed only three solo home runs in 5 1/3 innings. Then Horton starred on Thursday.
For Boyd on Tuesday, the win came against a Guardians team that gave him another chance last year after Tommy John surgery ended his 2023 season early. Boyd joined Cleveland midway through last season and wound up starting eight games down the stretch, plus three in the postseason.
It was an emotional reunion for him this week.
“I have so much respect for those guys, so much gratitude for the Cleveland organization,” Boyd said. “They gave me a shot.”
Counsell commended Boyd for picking up the slack for a rotation that has dealt with numerous injuries. Justin Steele is out for the season, while Javier Assad has missed the first three months. Imanaga missed two months before his recent return.
“I think his steadiness and his just delivering innings every time out, quality innings every time out, it’s stabilizing,” Counsell said. “It helps the bullpen. It helps you win, obviously.”
3. Several things went wrong when Pete Crow-Armstrong overran third base.
Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong sprints around the bases en route to a run-scoring triple in the fourth inning of a game against the Cleveland Guardians at Wrigley Field in Chicago on July 2, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
One of the most electric moments of the series turned sour quickly. With two outs in the fourth inning during Wednesday’s 5-4 win, Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong came up to bat with a runner on first base. Crow-Armstrong smacked a ball to right field. It bounced off the ivy at an odd angle that sent the ball rolling away from Cleveland right fielder Nolan Jones.
After the carom off the ivy, Crow-Armstrong was clearly thinking triple — if not more — on the play because he was flying around the bases.
Seiya Suzuki scored from first base, but third base coach Quintin Berry found himself way down the third-base line as he waved Suzuki home, nearly at home plate. The problem was Crow-Armstrong was hot on Suzuki’s heels and, as he rounded second base, there was no third base coach in his line of sight.
Crow-Armstrong did not slide into third. He overran the bag, perhaps unaware that a throw was coming his way, and was tagged out for the third out of the inning. He may have beat the relay throw if he had slid, but his momentum carried him past third base. Crow-Armstrong did not look happy after the play.
Photos: Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-4 at Wrigley Field
A day later, Counsell said both his outfielder and his third base coach could’ve done better on the play.
“There’s a lot of things that happened on the play,” Counsell said. “I think on Quintin’s end, his responsibility is the first runner and making as late a decision as he can on that runner. That means you’re going to be down the line after he makes the decision. I think ideally he springs back to the base. Could he have gotten there in time to influence Pete, who knows?”
Counsell also said that with two outs, Crow-Armstrong could’ve played it more conservatively and pulled up at second when he couldn’t find Berry.
“If you don’t have a clear view on what’s going to happen at third base on that, you’re risking a base,” Counsell said.
Counsell noted that it’s hard to do that when the Wrigley Field crowd is roaring.
The Cubs have been aggressive on the base paths this season. Berry’s tutelage has been a big part of that. The mistake on Wednesday didn’t cost the Cubs the game, but in a one-run victory, it could have.