The Cubs make history with nine home runs, Boston stages a comeback and the Phillies end August on a high note

Monday, Aug. 31, featured a historic display of power by the Chicago Cubs, a comeback by the Boston Red Sox and another victory for the Philadelphia Phillies to cap off a great month of August.

The Cubs defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 17–3 in the first game of a crucial four-game series at Wrigley Field. Chicago hit nine home runs, a single-game home run record in franchise history. The nine home runs tie for the second-highest total in a single game in MLB history dating back to at least 1900, second only to the 10 hit by the Blue Jays on Sep. 14, 1987.

The victory cut the Brewers' lead over the Cubs in the National League Central Division to seven games. Both teams have six games remaining over the next nine days. Chicago is also firmly in the mix for the National League Wild Card and currently holds the top spot.

Nine home runs, including three by Bregman

Tyrone Taylor got the ball rolling with a two-run home run in the first inning. One batter later, Nico Hoerner also cleared the fence to spark a four-run outburst in the opening inning.

Alex Bregman hit a two-run homer in the second inning and sent the ball over the fence again in the fourth, when he hit back-to-back homers with Seiya Suzuki. The Cubs' third baseman finished the night with three home runs.

By the time Kyle Harrison's day was over, the Brewers pitcher had allowed nine runs and 10 hits in 3.2 innings, while the five home runs he allowed tied the second-highest total for a Milwaukee pitcher in a single game.

In his two previous starts against the Cubs this season, Harrison had limited them to two runs total, with 20 strikeouts and two walks over 12 innings.

Clay Holmes, for his part, cruised through six scoreless innings with a more balanced repertoire than usual. He increased his use of the cutter to 22%, compared to just 9% for the entire season, and relied slightly less on his sinker.

Fifteen of the 18 outs recorded by Holmes in the victory came via eight strikeouts and seven groundouts. The right-hander left the mound with a 2.09 ERA for the season.

The Cubs also set a team record with 62 home runs in August, the second-highest total ever in a calendar month in baseball history. Only the 2019 Yankees, with 74 in August, have hit more.

Bregman is also in the midst of a hot streak at the plate. Since July 27, only Pete Crow-Armstrong, with 15, has hit more home runs than Bregman, with 13, in Major League Baseball.

Including his performance on Monday, Bregman is batting .328/.388/.701 with 13 home runs, 12 doubles and 33 RBIs in his last 33 games.

Boston comes back, Story seals the deal

In Boston, the Red Sox defeated the Seattle Mariners 9-8 in 10 innings.

With three outs left in the game, Roman Anthony, in his second game back after spending nearly four months on the injured list, led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple to center field. Julio Rodríguez made an aggressive dive for the ball, but it got past him and reached the wall.

With one out, Ceddanne Rafaela hit a fly ball of medium depth to left field. Interim third-base coach Chad Epperson sent Anthony home, where he executed a tremendous slide to tie the game.

It was Trevor Story, also in his second game back after a lengthy stint on the injured list, who made the comeback possible by hitting a two-run double off the Green Monster in the bottom of the eighth inning, cutting a three-run deficit to one.

Finally, Story ended the game with a hard-hit single off Cooper Criswell to give the Red Sox the victory.

The Phillies end August with a 21-7 record

The Phillies closed out August with four wins and four consecutive series losses, but they started the month with four straight wins and haven't looked back since.

On Monday, they defeated the D-backs 2-1 in the first game of the series and finished August with a 21-7 record, tied for the 10th-best month by winning percentage in franchise history. In addition, they have swept four of their last five series and are on a five-game winning streak.

Bryson Stott sparked the rally with a solo home run projected by Statcast at 464 feet in the second inning, by a wide margin, the longest of his career. His longest home run this season had been 412 feet on May 3 in Miami, while his previous personal best was 441 feet, hit on Sep. 24, 2025, against the Marlins in Philadelphia.

Stott batted .284 with an OPS of .820 and 11 RBIs during August, all while playing Gold Glove-caliber third base, a position he moved to following the arrival of Venezuelan second baseman Luis Arráez at the trade deadline.

The Phillies' second run came courtesy of Bryce Harper. Harper made it 2-0 with an RBI double off the center-field wall in the third inning, extending his on-base streak to 33 games.

Harper finished August with a batting line of .333/.496/.573, for an OPS of 1.069. His .496 on-base percentage is the highest for a Phillies hitter in a single month, with at least 100 plate appearances, since Ryan Howard posted a .561 OBP in September 2006.