Sweep of the Orioles has flipped the script for a suddenly hot Cubs team

Boy, that felt good. What had the makings of a fatal blow to the Cubs' hopes of turning their season around instead turned into the very spark they've been searching for. A three-game sweep of the first-place Baltimore Orioles has Chicago just three games out of the third NL wild card spot and has fans believing after months of disappointment.

Suddenly, the offense roared to life against Orioles pitching, racking up 21 runs in that series and averaging nearly 6 runs per game over its last seven. The starting pitching has been there all year long, but the bats and bullpen left much to be desired. Now, it all seems to be rounding into form at the absolute last minute if the team wants to avoid selling ahead of the trade deadline.

The first half closes with one final tough test: four games in three days against the rival Cardinals, a team that has rebounded from a sluggish start to surge to grab the second NL Wild Card spot heading into the break.

Obviously, the hope is that Craig Counsell's club can take this newfound momentum and finish the first half on a high note. Not to get too far ahead of ourselves here, but a sweep in St. Louis could get Chicago back to .500 for the first time since June 5. Even getting within a game or two of the break-even mark would be a major accomplishment that was a season-high nine games under on July 3.

Cubs finally seem to be starting to click - on multiple fronts

Rookie first baseman (and All-Star snub) Michael Busch is on a tear at the dish (1.321 OPS over the last week) and Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ are stepping up offensively. Even shortstop Dansby Swanson is showing signs of life with the bat. When these guys are all clicking, this lineup looks and feels very different than what we've bore witness to the last two months.

Even the bullpen is looking like its found its footing, with more reinforcements potentially on the way in the weeks to come. Look, after watching two straight months of flat-out bad baseball, it's hard not to latch onto any glimmer of hope. I know that.

But this series in Baltimore could've been the haymaker to put this team onto the mat. They're still in the ring and need to keep it going in the final weekend of the first half. If they do that, we all might feel a little better about their chances with an eye on punching that postseason ticket.