After two days off to clear his head amid an early-season slump, Ian Happ homered on the second pitch he saw Thursday, a four-seam fastball.
It has been a difficult season for the Cubs outfielder, who was slashing .220/.331/.320 before going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk in Friday’s 9-3 loss to the Pirates. Injuries to other hitters and a sluggish offense have only magnified his struggles.
“You use [the time off] essentially to give the player a break from having to perform,” manager Craig Counsell said. “You come to the park and you’re struggling. There’s [a feeling of] ‘I’ve got to go and do it again for the guys,’ and just to give a break from that, I think, is helpful. Watching a couple of games, it happens fast, but you do get a little perspective from it.”
Happ’s strikeout rate has jumped this season. He’s still performing well against fastballs (.347 average) but is struggling against off-speed pitches (.114) and breaking balls (.093). The Cubs are ninth in the major leagues in runs scored but need Happ’s bat to heat up.
A more disciplined Morel
Christopher Morel leads the Cubs in homers but also has improved as a
hitter overall, showing more patience and being more selective in what he swings at.
“There’s a lot of evi-dence that when you lower your strikeout rate and increase your walk rate that good things are happening,” Counsell said. “I think Christopher’s having good at-bats. When you see the foul balls and that they go straight back and it’s a just-miss, I think those are going to turn into good things.”
Morel has cut his strikeout rate from 31.0% last season to 21.4%.
Injury updates
The Cubs continue to be bit by the injury bug. On Friday, they put reliever Colten Brewer on the 15-day injured list with tightness in his lower back, making him their 16th player on the IL this season. Counsell said Brewer has been dealing with the issue since Wednesday’s win over the Braves.
In a corresponding move, the Cubs called up right-hander Porter Hodge from
Triple-A Iowa.
“Porter is a young pitcher with a very good arm,” Counsell said. “It’s a little fast for Porter, frankly, but it’s a good arm and this is going to be a good experience.”
In 11 innings at Triple-A, Porter had a 6.55 ERA, 18 strikeouts and 11 walks and allowed eight runs in 10 appearances.
• Second baseman Nico Hoerner missed his fourth consecutive game with a left hamstring issue. which he still felt as he went through his warmup exercise, Counsell said. The Cubs want to avoid an IL stint, but the possibility increases with each game he misses.
• Reliever Julian Merryweather, who has been on the IL since April 7, continues to recover from a stress fracture in his ribs. Counsell said he is “turning the corner a little bit and doing well.” The hope is that he can play catch Monday and begin a throwing program soon after.
