Happ homers, Cubs eke out 3-2 win over Reds
Ian Happ was hitless in his last 15 at-bats when he stepped to the plate in the seventh inning with the Cubs down by 2 runs.
With runners on the corners and one out, Happ unleashed on a thigh-high fastball and ripped it over the left-center field fence for a go-ahead 3-run homer in the Cubs' 3-2 win over the Reds on Friday at Wrigley Field.
"It's been a while since I've had one of those," Happ said of the home run. "It's been a while since I've had a hit. To get a hit in that situation, coming off what we've had to do in the last couple weeks and give us a chance to win a ballgame, that was great."
Cole Hamels had another strong start for the Cubs, going 6 ⅔ innings and allowing 2 runs. The Cubs had won each of the veteran left-hander's first six starts with them before dropping both of his last two.
Offensive struggles have plagued the Cubs recently as they continue to trudge through a stretch of 30 straight scheduled game days, and no run support was the culprit in Hamels' previous two starts. When he departed in the top of seventh, it looked as if Friday's contest would unfold in a similar fashion.
Catcher Victor Caratini led off the seventh with a sharp single to right, and the Cubs caught a break when David Bote's double-play ball took a rough hop and bounced off Eugenio Suarez's chest. Tommy La Stella's pinch-hit fielder's choice set up the Happ home run.
"He's been battling man," manager Joe Maddon said of Happ. "By no means does he ever quit of give up. He's just been frustrated, like a lot of us have. That obviously is a big moment for him and for us.
"The thing I've known about Ian in the past is when he starts clicking, then it continues."
Maddon said the Cubs would be using a closer-by-committee after losing Pedro Strop for the rest of the regular season with a moderate left hamstring strain.
It was Jorge De La Rosa's job on Friday. The left-hander worked around a one-out double from catcher Curt Casali and a two-out walk to Billy Hamilton before earning the first save of his 15-year career.
"The walk to Hamilton made it a little bit interesting, but man (De La Rosa) had great composure out there," Maddon said. "First big league save. Wow, good for him."
Already without Strop and Brandon Morrow due to injuries, the Cubs bullpen was additionally short-staffed with all the consecutive games. Expanded rosters in September help, but the usual suspects of Steve Cishek, Carl Edwards Jr. and Jesse Chavez were all unavailable to pitch Friday.
Instead, it was rookie right-hander Dillon Maples who relieved Hamels with two outs in the seventh. The idea was to use Maples and his sorcerous slider as a "jab" against the right-handed Jose Peraza, who had already homered in the game. Four sliders later, the Cubs were out of the inning.
Recently-acquired Jaime Garcia pitched a scoreless eighth to hold the 1-run lead before De La Rosa finished it in the ninth.
After cruising through the first three innings, Hamels left an inside fastball up a little to Peraza for a leadoff home run. Next was Joey Votto, who connected for an opposite-field homer.
Hamels had allowed 1 home run in his first eight starts as a Cub - and none in his first seven - before serving one up to two straight batters.
A walk and a single with an error gave the Reds runners on second and third with nobody out before Hamels got some help.
Phillip Ervin struck out looking for the first out on a 3-2 fastball, which replays showed was off the plate inside.
Javier Baez snagged a grounder from Curt Casali and fired home to retire Eugenio Suarez at the plate, thanks to a sweep tag from Victor Caratini. Hamels then struck out Matt Harvey to escape further trouble.
"Just the way that the play transpired," Hamels said. "That was Javy being himself. He's just a tremendous defender.
"To make that play, you really have to look at Caratini for catching that and obviously making the tag because that's even tough on him."