Entering the year, the Cubs were expecting big things from Kyle Hendricks and Dansby Swanson – two of the most important players on the roster.

The season hasn’t gone the way they – or the Cubs – anticipated to date, but both veterans are showing signs of returning to form.

Hendricks and Swanson keyed the Cubs’ 6-5 victory Wednesday afternoon in front of 37,673 fans on a steamy afternoon at Wrigley Field.

Making his return to the rotation, Hendricks struck out 8 over 5.2 innings, allowing only 1 run.

Swanson homered in the 4th inning and had a clutch 2-out, 2-run single in the 7th to lead the charge offensively.

Coming into the week, the Cubs had only won 1 of their last 10 series – a 2-game set against the White Sox earlier this month. This is the Cubs’ first series win in a 3-game set since May 10-12 in Pittsburgh.

With the injuries to rookies Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks, Hendricks was thrust back into the rotation. He began the year as the Cubs’ No. 2 starter but experienced pronounced struggles (10.57 ERA through 7 starts).

This was his first start since May 17 and he flourished, allowing only 2 hits and a walk. The first hit against him came in the 6th inning and the only other hit was a bunt single that barely stayed fair.

Hendricks also very nearly escaped the 6th inning with another scoreless frame after inducing a groundball that the Cubs were unable to turn 2 on, leading to a run.

It was the 1st run he has allowed in June, spanning 14.1 innings (0.63 ERA).

“The great thing about Kyle is that he never stops trying to figure it out and he’s open to changing things, getting better, making adjustments,” Craig Counsell said. “And that’s how you get out of that stuff. And that’s how you get to this place. And that’s how you keep going. That’s a growth mindset.

“It’s that mindset that gets you to that place. With his accomplishments and his career, it’s easy to say, ‘this is the way I’ve done it.’ And I think Kyle’s real gift is that he’s just open and he’s willing to make those adjustments and make changes. And that’s why you end up in a place like this.”

When Hendricks walked off the mound in that 6th inning, the Wrigley crowd gave him a standing ovation in a cool moment on the field.

“It was well deserved,” said Swanson. “He’s been throwing the ball well these last couple outings. Never once has he complained about anything. He’s showed up to do his job each and every day.

“And I think there’s valuable life lessons in that – sometimes when you get beat down a little bit, the best thing you can do is continue to get back up and push forward. And he’s done that and he’s shown not only to himself, but all of us in here, the ability to persevere is such a great quality to have.”

While Hendricks is certainly pleased with his personal performance, what he cares about most is helping the team win – something he was unable to do much in the first couple months of the season.

He spent almost his entire career in the starting rotation, so the move to the bullpen was a major shift. But he didn’t spent much time focusing on getting back to a point like Wednesday afternoon.

“Yeah, honestly, I tried to keep it so simple,” Hendricks said. “So maybe it was like a dream, in a way, but I truly tried to lock in on process. I was so far from who I was as a pitcher that I really had to commit to my process, commit to getting better every day – almost reset and restart a career.

“So just really tried to take advantage every single day. My focus wasn’t necessarily to get back there. You don’t want it to come under the circumstances with the two young guys getting hurt.”

[WATCH: Hendricks recaps his journey back to Cubs’ rotation]

The 8 strikeouts were Hendricks’ most in a start in over 3 years – since May 16, 2021.

It was the 2nd straight game with a homer for Swanson and his 4th longball of June. He entered the month with only 4 homers on the season. He is now hitting .214 with a .660 OPS on the season.

The Cubs scored 3 insurance runs in the bottom of the 7th inning and needed every single one of them. Jorge Soler hit a grand slam in the top of the 8th inning to pull the Giants to within 1.

Colten Brewer pitched the 9th inning to close out the nail-biter and pick up the first save of his career.