Takeaways from the Cubs' weekend sweep of the Mets, stretching the win streak to 5

Standing at his locker, Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong said that Nico Hoerner was his favorite baseball player.

It wasn’t just that Hoerner delivered a walk-off sacrifice fly ball to left field to lift the Chicago Cubs to a 2-1 walk-off win over the Mets on Sunday to sweep the weekend series. It’s deeper than that, and for good reason.

Here are our takeaways from the weekend series where the Cubs swept the Mets to improve to 12-9 on the season.

Comeback kids? Not exactly

Marquee Sports’ researcher Chris Kamka pointed out on X that the Cubs have staged five comebacks in their last seven games. It counts as a comeback when the Cubs have trailed at any time. They didn’t have one in their first 14 games.

Cubs’ manager Craig Counsell said it really didn’t feel like it.

Some of the comebacks have been less than epic, like when the Cubs came back from down 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning. But, ones like Sunday are the ones that speak the loudest.

"When you put together winning streaks, it's about a lot of guys doing good things," Counsell said. "That's what you have to do, whether it's the bullpen, whether it's starters, whether it's the offense. I think in these five games, you can mention all of them and the guys that have helped us do that."

The offense was 1 for 19 with runners in scoring position on Sunday. That stat earned a reaction from Counsell when a reporter told him after the game.

Instead, the pitching had to hold the fort until the offense woke up. The pitching did that. The offense woke up in the ninth inning.

The Cubs found a bit of a resilient edge in the last seven games. It’s a good trait to have.

"That’d have been a really big win for them, being able to hold us in our line up to one run,
 Crow-Armstrong said. "I think any team, we're just looking to step on their throat, play our style of baseball, and whatever happens with that happens."

That mentality also takes execution. The Cubs got that execution on Sunday and in five of the past seven games.

It also helps when the manager shrugs off early-season struggles, and the players follow suit.

"That's how it rolls and winning streaks happen," Counsell said.

Hoerner’s approach

When Crow-Armstrong said Hoerner was his favorite baseball player, it wasn’t just because he won the Cubs the game on Sunday.

Crow-Armstrong has gotten one of the best seats in Wrigley to watch Hoerner play at a high level since joining the big-league roster in Chicago.

"We got the best bat-to-ball guy in baseball and my favorite player in baseball as our leadoff hitter," he said.

But, Hoerner’s game took a big step forward this year when the Cubs rewarded him with a large extension to pay him like he’s one of the best players on the roster and one of the best second basemen in the league.

Players paid as much as Hoerner have to produce when the time comes. He did on Sunday with a sacrifice fly to right field that brought Crow-Armstrong home to win the game.

"That's absolutely the guy you want up there in that situation," Counsell said.

It was a little surprising to see Hoerner, one of the best contact hitters in baseball, hit in that moment. The Mets opted to pitch to Hoerner instead of Michael Busch, even though first base was open.

Hoerner has an extremely high overall contact rate and was one of the hardest players to strike out in 2025. He made the Mets pay for it.

In the last five games for the Cubs, all wins, Hoerner has 11 RBI, two home runs and nine hits. He’s credited the Cubs’ organization for the way he grew into a player that thrives in the spotlight.

"I think it's a product of being in an organization that's in the spotlight," Hoerner said. "I think we're lucky to play in a place that we have great coverage. We have great fans, and there's a great opportunity here."

However, the Cubs also know some of their winning streak has been because Hoerner has starred.

"The dude’s just locked in all the time," Cubs outfielder Michael Conforto said. "There’s nothing he can’t do on a baseball field."

The Cubs have World Series aspirations. It’s why the team went out and acquired the players it did in the offseason, and rewarded players like Hoerner.

The entire organization dreaming big is something that’s helped Hoerner settle into his role as one of the most reliable players in the organization.

"It's definitely easier to play well when you're on a team that has real purpose and good people around you like that," Hoerner said.