Roughly three hours after rocking out to "Born in the USA" as his new walk-up song, Kyle Schwarber strutted out to his locker wearing American flag shorts and dripping with sweat after a postgame weight-lifting session.
He's not saving the world like Captain America or anything like that, but Schwarber is no stronger to the role of hero, having played it for the Cubs in each of the last two postseasons.
And now with the team fighting through a recent offensive slump, Schwarber is once again emerging as a possible answer for this Cubs lineup down the stretch.
The young slugger battled so hard to get his average back up over .200 after a stint in the minor leagues over the summer, but he hit his own slump in late August and early September.
Those woes led to Schwarber riding the bench over the weekend as the Cubs scored just three runs in three games against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Schwarber normally starts against right-handed pitchers and Milwaukee threw three righties out at Wrigley Field over the weekend yet Schwarber didn't see his name in the lineup once. He came in late Saturday in a 15-2 loss, drilling a homer and drawing a walk.
That little hot stretch rolled into Tuesday as Schwarber reached base all four times up, including his fourth three-hit game of the season as well as his 26th homer. For all the adversity he's faced throughout a roller coaster season, Schwarber is still tied with Kris Bryant for the second-most homers on the Cubs behind Anthony Rizzo.
MLB
Tuesday's big game raised Schwarber's 2017 average to .207, the highest it's been since April 29 when he was hitting .211.
Joe Maddon said he's encouraged by the steps Schwarber has taken to get his groove back, which included going to the opposite field and getting a pair of hits off left-handed pitchers.
"Shorter movements to the ball," Maddon said. "Much more hand involvement. I loved the line-drive to left-central. I thought it was big. And then good at-bats against both lefties.
"The homer, he stayed on that pitch really well. If he's getting out too far with longer movements, that doesn't happen. It just looks shorter and quicker, foot down sooner."
Schwarber refused to acknowledge any sort of frustration or show any cracks in the exterior from getting the weekend off.
"It doesn't really change anything at all," Schwarber said. "I still go about my routine. Trying to keep making adjustments here and there."
Since the All-Star Break, Schwarber has a .908 OPS, slashing .255/.349/.559 in 166 plate appearances.
As the Cubs continue to search for their offensive rhythm down the stretch, Schwarber can play a huge role in a tight division race.
The Cubs are slated to face right-handed starting pitchers in the next four games through Saturday, which should lead to lots of playing time for a guy who loves hitting when the lights are brightest (career .364 hitter with 1.178 OPS in the postseason).