Bryant, Chicago Cubs power up a sweep

As he jogged around the bases, Kris Bryant never watched it - never admired the shot - even if most of the 41,183 sun-soaked fans at Wrigley Field did.

It's just not a Kris Bryant thing.

"I don't watch my home runs," he said Sunday after the 23rd of his rookie season helped the Chicago Cubs defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 to complete a sweep of the three-game series. "I don't believe in that."

It just so happened that this home run traveled an estimated 495 feet, bouncing off the new videoboard in left field.

According to MLB Statcast, which tracks such things, it was the longest home run in the major leagues this season. Bryant's ball nearly pegged the big picture of him on the big board.

"Good thing the board was there," teammate Miguel Montero said with a laugh. "Otherwise, (the ball) would still be flying."

"I think he got all of that one," said Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks, grinning.

While Bryant's home run was a jaw-dropper, Montero's home run was a jawbreaker, a punch that his former team never overcame. With the game tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth and the bases loaded, Montero went opposite field against newly inserted lefty reliever Matt Reynolds. The ball landed in the left-field bleachers for Montero's 15th home run and third career grand slam.

Jonathan Herrera's first pinch-hit homer of his career came one batter after Montero's blast and capped a 5-run inning for a 6-1 advantage.

"He's come through in some really large moments for us," manager Joe Maddon said of Montero. "He's gotten some really big hits."

Bryant's homer came leading off the fifth against Rubby De La Rosa, who was pitching a no-hitter. Bryant got a knee-high pitch down the middle on an 0-2 count and launched it. As necks in the ballpark craned to view the baseball, Bryant lowered his head and ran.

He also homered off the videoboard in May 26 against Washington's Aaron Barrett.

"I knew I hit it good, so there was no reason to watch it or anything like that," Bryant said.

Watching Bryant at the plate in recent weeks has been must-see material for Cubs fans. On Aug. 1, his batting average had dropped to a season-worst .244. Since then, he has hit 9 home runs and seen his average climb to .267.

The NL's player of the month for August said going back to an old drill he used in college helped. So did his tireless work with hitting coach John Mallee and assistant hitting coach Eric Hinske.

"It was just really minor adjustments that I had to make," Bryant said. "Just trying to be more direct to the ball. I had too much of an extreme uppercut. Just trying to level out a little bit and make more hard contact, and it's been paying off for me."

What helped the 23-year-old slugger, too, was his willingness to seek help.

"Give KB a lot of credit for being open-minded to the whole moment," Maddon said. "He was seeking (Mallee's and Hinske's) advice. There was a simple plan enacted. That's the difference."

Bryant's long homer was historic for another reason. It gave him 86 RBI, tying him with Billy Williams (1961) and Geovany Soto (2008) for most by a rookie in franchise history.

"They were shaking my hand in the dugout," Bryant said. "I guess they put (the rookie RBI record) on the scoreboard, and (in the dugout) they were saying congrats. I thought they were saying it because I hit a far home run.

"I guess it was because I tied the record. It's pretty cool to be mentioned in the same sentence with those guys."

This moment, he held his head high.