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Happ knocks himself out of Cubs' loss to Pirates

The Cubs are hoping one bad bounce doesn't lead to extended time off for center fielder Ian Happ.

In the fourth inning of Thursday's 6-2 loss in Pittsburgh, Happ fouled off a low pitch, which then bounced up and struck him in the right eye, knocking his helmet off in the process.

Happ stumbled toward the dugout and fell to his knees. After spending a few minutes trying to shake it off, he left the game while Cameron Maybin finished the at bat.

When he met with reporters after the game, Cubs manager David Ross said he hadn't yet spoken to Happ.

"All indications I heard was it's not too bad," Ross said. "(His vision) was just super blurry, (eye) kept watering. That's just a dangerous situation first of all. The swelling was starting to creep in pretty quick.

"You could tell right where it hit him and was starting to bruise a little bit. That's a supersensitive area and wanted to make sure he was OK. It's tough to hit with two eyes, much less one."

Needless to say, this was an unwelcome turn of events for the Cubs. Happ has been their best position player this season, leading the team in just about every meaningful offensive category. His first-inning double improved his batting average to .311.

This ended up being a game of missed opportunities for the Cubs. They left nine on base and went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

Happ's spot in the order came up again with the bases loaded in the sixth inning and Maybin flied to left. The Cubs scored their runs early, on an RBI single from Victor Caratini in the first then Jason Kipnis scored on an error in the third.

"Scary," Anthony Rizzo said of Happ's injury. "Vision's not something you want to mess with. He seems to be in good spirits. I don't think he's seeing Tweety Bird right now, luckily.

"It's scary, especially with Happer and how he's carried us. The adjustments he's made and continues to grow as a person, a leader, a player. Thankfully he's all right, or signs of being all right, and we'll see where he's at tomorrow."

The Pirates took the lead on a 3-run homer by new dad Bryan Reynolds in the third, making a loser out of starting pitcher Alec Mills (3-3). The Cubs lost to Pittsburgh for the first time this season after five straight wins.

Thus concludes a 10-game road trip with a 5-5 record. It wasn't a continuous journey, since the Cubs had off days between each series and returned to Chicago both times. The Cubs will play 13 of their next 16 games at home, with second-place St. Louis arriving Friday for the start of a five-game series.

"Nothing great, nothing terrible," Rizzo said. "It was definitely a long road trip."

He meant nothing terrible as long as Happ bounces back from the bouncing foul ball mishap.

Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls

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