MLB hot streak highlights

Seiya Suzuki kept the Cubs rolling on April 22, homering again as Chicago beat Philadelphia 7-2 for its eighth straight win. (mlb.com) Chicago improved to 15-9 with the victory, a half-game behind first place in the National League Central, and Suzuki homered in a second straight game after also going deep in Tuesday’s 7-4 win. (espn.com) (apnews.com) The Cubs’ surge landed alongside two other power flashes Wednesday. Mike Trout hit his eighth homer in the Angels’ 7-3 win over Toronto, and Oneil Cruz crushed a three-run shot off the top of the right-field foul pole in Pittsburgh’s 8-4 win over Texas. (espn.com) (mlb.com) Trout’s homer traveled 428 feet and tied Garret Anderson’s Angels franchise record with 796 extra-base hits. The Angels improved to 12-14 after avoiding a series sweep by the Blue Jays. (espn.com) Cruz’s homer was measured at 116.9 miles per hour off the bat and an estimated 432 feet, the hardest-hit home run in Major League Baseball this season, according to Statcast. The ball struck the top of the foul pole and kicked into the third deck at Globe Life Field. (mlb.com) Chicago’s streak stands out because the Cubs spent the first weeks of April dealing with lineup outages and injuries before winning eight in a row. Through Wednesday, they ranked fourth in batting average, third in on-base percentage and sixth in slugging, according to ESPN’s team page. (mlb.com) (espn.com) Suzuki’s quick impact matters in that context because he only made his 2026 debut last week after missing the start of the season with a minor posterior cruciate ligament sprain in his right knee suffered during the World Baseball Classic. His return restored one of Chicago’s middle-of-the-order bats just as the club found momentum. (mlb.com) The early-April home run leaderboard can swing fast, but Trout’s start has come after an injury-marred 2025 and Cruz’s raw power has again turned into nightly highlight material. Suzuki, Trout and Cruz are different kinds of hitters, yet all three forced the same question this week: which hot bats are driving real team movement in the standings. (espn.com) (mlb.com) (espn.com) For now, the clearest answer is in Chicago, where one more Suzuki homer came with one more Cubs win. Eight straight victories have turned a shaky start into a live division race before May. (mlb.com) (espn.com)