Aiming for consistency, Happ returns to leadoff spot for Cubs

Ian Happ returned to the leadoff spot for the Cubs Tuesday night. It was his first time at the top of the batting order since April 17.

Happ began the season as the Cubs' leadoff man, and he hit the first pitch of the season for a home run at Miami. But after that, it was a struggle for the second-year man, so manager Joe Maddon went with others at the top.

"I think I've just been getting on base a lot recently, and try to keep that going for the guys behind me," Happ said. "I think it was just a matter of time until things clicked a little bit. That's why we play 162 games, and it's a game of averages because at the end of the day, it all evens out. I look at the back of Tony's (Anthony Rizzo's) baseball card, and it's the same every single year. That's how this thing goes. You're going to have your ups and downs, and I'm just trying to be as consistent as I can. If I can level it out a bit and be more consistent over a period of time, that would be better for our team."

Manager Joe Maddon said recent good at-bats by Happ earned him another shot at the leadoff position.

"Just try to get him to primarily slow things down, try to get him back into left-center," Maddon said. "And I did not want to heap a whole lot of at-bats on him. When you're not going good, if you heap too many at-bats on somebody, then all of a sudden that's really hard to dig out of that holes.

"A lot of conversations. But nothing complicated. I like to go (on) the simple side of things. I really wanted him to understand left-center again. I wanted him to try to not to lift the ball intentionally. Really organize his strike zone. You've seen him more recently not chasing the high fastball nearly as often."

When asked if Happ could resume seeing regular at-bats at the leadoff spot, Maddon replied: "We're going to find out. I just thought he's looked better. He's coming off a nice streak on the road trip, last night pinch hitting (a home run). The home run's great, and of course, that's nice. But how he got to the pitch to hit, to me, was the important thing."

Faith in Chatwood:

Joe Maddon said he is not planning on having No. 5 starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood miss any starts to figure things out. Chatwood lasted only 2⅔ innings Tuesday night, walking six Cleveland Indians.

"I really want to get him back out as quickly as we possibly can," the manager said. "It's not mechanical in a sense, but it is. He's got a busy delivery. It really requires him being on time. And I'm not saying what he does cannot work. But yesterday, I thought he was a little bit too quick with everything. In Atlanta he found his rhythm. We've just got to keep putting him out there. I stand by what I said. I like this guy a lot, and he's going to have a really impactful season for us. Stuff wise, that's good stuff he throws up there."

Maddon also cautioned things won't change overnight or drastically for Chatwood.

"To think he's going to go from a bunch of walks to no walks, that's a bad assumption," he said. "It would just be that he would cut back down to a more reasonable number, which I think he can. He's going to walk people. I accept that. But he also doesn't give up a lot of hits. So there's a balance to be achieved right there."