What happened: The Chicago Cubs are highlighting a blistering stretch of production at the plate: 8 home runs and 26 RBI across the last 10 games. It marks a sustained power surge that has fueled the club's recent offensive output.

Why it matters: Middle-of-the-order thump at this rate raises a lineup's ceiling and can carry a team through the grind of the regular season. A 10-game window of this kind of slugging is a strong signal of a hitter locked in and squaring up pitches consistently.

What to watch: The question is whether the pace holds as the Cubs move deeper into their schedule and pitchers adjust.