Ian

Happ

Happ’s home run was his 17th of the year. He hit a three-run home run off Chad Patrick in the top of the sixth inning. Happ was moved down to seventh in the order with a left-handed starter pitching for the Brewers, but was able to come through with a big hit against a right-handed reliever. He’s hitting .227 with an .800 OPS and 41 RBI.

That’s still better than being on the bench, as he was against a lefty on Wednesday. He’d previously hit sixth twice against lefties, but this is the lowest in the order he’s been this year. The switch-hitting Happ is batting just .172/.234/.345 against southpaws this season. He’s at .250/.377/.505 against right-handers.

The Cubs were down 6-1 when Happ homered in the seventh, and his double came in the middle of the game-winning four-run rally in the ninth. Happ has four homers, five doubles and 13 RBI in his last eight games.

Happ has seven hits, three homers and 10 RBI in his last three games, so it seems safe to declare his slump over. Given that Happ has 13 homers through 54 games this year, it seems like a good bet that he’ll eclipse his career high of 25. He had that many in both 2021 and ’24. He also hit 24 in 115 games as a rookie in 2017 and 23 last year.

Happ transformed a 3-2 lead into a 5-2 advantage as he ambushed a first-pitch fastball from Brandon Bidois for a 403-foot (103.7 mph EV) two-run shot in the eighth inning. Happ also singled twice in the ballgame. With his three-hit effort, he’s now hitting .225/.351/.455 to go along with 12 homers, 28 RBI and a pair of stolen bases on the year.

Happ got the Cubs going in this one with a two-run single in the first inning that instantly put Pirates’ starter Bubba Chandler on the ropes. Then, his three-run homer in the seventh gave them a lead and set up what turned into a six-run inning. This was the most RBI that Happ has had in a single game since July 4th, 2024 and brought his season total from 21 to 26 in one fell swoop. That’s the kind of heroics the Cubs needed to finally break their 10-game losing streak.

Happ was given a mental break in being held out Saturday and Sunday. Besides the walk, his three at-bats today produced an infield pop, a weak grounder and a strikeout, dropping his average to .211. Of course, he’s far from the only Cub floundering during the team’s current nine-game skid.

Cubs skipper Craig Counsell noted that the team wanted to give him a couple of days off to clear his head. He has still been hitting and doing other pregame work and is expected to return to the Cubs’ lineup on Monday. Happ is mired in an extended slump and is just 3-for-28 (.107) over his last seven games.

Happ takes a seat in favor of Michael Conforto against Astros starter Kai-Wei Teng. The 31-year-old hitting .107 (3-for-28) over his last seven games and slashing .188/.349/.377 with three homers and 34 strikeouts in 20 games since May 1. He’ll get a brief mental reset as the Cubs attempt to get him back on track.

Happ started the sixth inning by working Chris Sale for a seven-pitch walk. He then advanced to second on a fielder’s choice and took third on an error before scoring the game’s first run on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Matt Shaw. He then provided a massive insurance run with a 424-foot (107.6 mph EV) solo shot off of Reynaldo Lopez in the eighth inning. For the season, the 31-year-old slugger is now hitting .234/.376/.481 with 10 homers, 19 RBI and a pair of stolen bases through his first 189 plate appearances.