Even amid a blowout loss Tuesday night, there were plenty of intriguing elements that could impact the Cubs down the stretch.
Duane Underwood's head-turning, record-setting performance out of the bullpen was one. Ian Happ seeing some playing time at second base was another. Kyle Schwarber catching the ninth inning was also intriguing, but the Cubs probably won't be utilizing that much in the future, especially with the signing of Jonathan Lucroy.
Happ has been pushing to play more second base since the end of last season and has worked hard all year to improve his infield defense. He finally earned a shot this week, with Wednesday serving as his first big-league start at second base since Sept. 19, 2017.
The 24-year-old responded with the huge hit of the Cubs' 10-1 win over Oakland — a grand slam in the fourth inning. He also singled and lined out twice, hitting the ball hard all over the field.
As the Cubs try to find the right mix at second base, Happ is aggressively trying to win the battle and climb atop the depth chart.
"[Cubs infield coach Brian Butterfield] has been working with him a lot and he had done a lot of work with Triple-A," manager Joe Maddon said. "When he came back, he wanted to make sure that I knew that he's very capable of doing that. The way he's swinging the bat right now, creatively trying to get him in the lineup and see how it plays.
"This could be very beneficial to us moving down the road."
MLB
Maddon's right: as the Cubs work to get into a more consistent offensive groove, they need more production out of second base. They entered play Wednesday ranking 22nd in MLB with a .674 OPS from the position.
Meanwhile, Happ now has a 1.052 OPS on the season in 12 games since being recalled from the minor leagues.
The lineup the Cubs put out Wednesday looks to be their best offensive group, at least until Willson Contreras returns from injury:
1. Jason Heyward - CF
2. Nicholas Castellanos - RF
3. Kris Bryant - 3B
4. Anthony Rizzo - 1B
5. Javy Baez - SS
6. Kyle Schwarber - LF
7. Ian Happ - 2B
8. Victor Caratini - C
Plus, the Cubs could always look to get a lead early and switch to a more defensive-centric lineup later in games, inserting David Bote or Tony Kemp at second base and moving Happ to the outfield.
As the Cubs hit the road and try to rewrite the script away from Wrigley Field, Maddon confirmed Happ would remain in the team's second-base mix and hinted that could even come this weekend in Cincinnati.
"He's really not missing his pitch right now," Maddon said. "And he's had a pretty good history in that city, including going to university there. You'll see him play down there."
Happ — who attended the University of Cincinnati — hits better at Great American Ballpark than anywhere else on the planet, posting a .405 batting average and 1.457 OPS there lifetime (14 games).
Then there's Underwood, who tied a franchise record by striking out six consecutive batters while making his 2019 debut:
The 25-year-old right-hander had been lights out in Triple-A since making the switch from a starter to a reliever and continued to flash his potential with Tuesday's dominant outing.
The Cubs will continue to get looks at Underwood in the big-league bullpen, especially while both Craig Kimbrel and Brandon Kintzler are on the injured list.
"You need to try [to see what you have]," Maddon said. "You need to explore it a little bit. When you strike out six guys — regardless of the score, those A's weren't going up there not caring. They weren't going up there like, 'yeah, I'm just gonna strike out.' Those are good hitters.
"And not only that, if you watch the whole event — Duane's appearance, the line with which he threw strikes and command where he wanted the fastball and command of the changeup. I mean, you just don't do that. And 96 mph down to a changeup like that, in a close game, that could also play. So we're gonna find out."
Maddon also pointed to his experience witnessing young pitchers with good stuff (think Francisco Rodriguez in Anaheim) make a name for themselves with good performances down the stretch and acknowledged the potential for Underwood and Rowan Wick to do the same with the Cubs this season.
The changeup has been a key to Underwood's success, especially with his velocity spike that he can more easily maintain working as a reliever. The former second-round pick said he spent time with Kyle Hendricks in the weeks leading up to spring training this year, picking at the veteran's brain about his renowned changeup.
Underwood said he's feeling better with that changeup every time he's using it and gaining more and more confidence each day, which matches up with the advice Hendricks game him:
"The changeup's such a feel pitch and I told him, 'It's just something you have to throw a lot,'" Hendricks said. "You've gotta play catch with it all the time, you have to throw it a lot in your bullpens and sides and it'll start to come around and see what it looked like.
"[Tuesday] night was unbelievable. The way it played off his fastball, too — just the same look, same plane. It's just awesome to see him go out there and have all his hard work pay off."