Ian Happ hit his one centesimal profession dwelling run within the first inning, however the Chicago Cubs dropped a 5-2 resolution in Sunday’s collection finale in opposition to the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field.
Keston Hiura homered twice to steer the Brewers’ comeback win.
The loss broke a five-game successful streak and wasted a stellar displaying by Cubs starter Justin Steele. The left-hander struck out 9 in six shutout innings, permitting two hits and one stroll.
“From where he’s come from early in the season, it just feels like you’re getting that performance every time he steps onto the mound,” Cubs supervisor David Ross mentioned. “One inning he needed to work actually arduous there and completed actually properly these final two.
“Impressive every time out and very consistent, which is really hard to be.”
Ross additionally delighted in Happ’s milestone.
“One hundred homers that fast, especially from a switch hitter,” Ross mentioned. “Guy’s had a really nice year and that’s just the icing on the cake.”
Speaking of cake, Happ mentioned the younger fan who caught the house run ball was celebrating his tenth birthday, however Happ was in a position to coax the memento from him by signing some memorabilia.
“Really cool milestone in this park to do it at home,” Happ mentioned. “And to be able to share it with a fan. Really cool 10th birthday, I think.”
Happ mentioned he felt humbled to be within the firm of 25 different Cubs who reached the century mark with the staff. He additionally gushed about Steele’s efficiency.
“Yan (Gomes) did a great job back there calling the game, but (Steele has) been in the zone,” Happ mentioned. “Lot of swing-and-miss on the fastball, and he’s been in a position to get by six-plus innings, which is a giant deal. He’s persevering with to get higher and work out his recreation extra and asking questions within the dugout.
“As he goes through, he’s figuring out more and more — all right, if I use different pitches, different situations, set hitters up for later in the game — all those things that come along with being a big-league starter.”
Steele struck out the aspect to open his twenty third begin of the season, and his 9 strikeouts convey his whole in 4 begins this month to 33.
It’s turning out to be a scorching August for Steele, although the game-time temperature Sunday was 71 levels with a breeze.
But don’t inform that to Steele.
“I was definitely sweating,” he mentioned. “It was humid out there. I looked this morning, (the forecast) was like 70 to 80? I felt like every time I was walking up the steps, as soon as I hit the air I started sweating. Lord have mercy.”
Here are 5 takeaways from the sport.
1. With a promising lefty on the mound, Jon Lester picked a very good time to go to.
The retired Cubs pitching nice made the rounds and waved to applauding followers when he was proven on the video board.
Ross was completely happy to see his former teammate from the 2016 World Series champions, however they didn’t discuss baseball.
“He’s full into the kids and the family dynamic. … I think his golf game has improved for sure. See if he can help us out in the pen, we’ve been taxed a lot lately,” Ross joked earlier than the sport. “But he says he’s a starter only.”
Lester made an impression on Steele, who launched himself earlier than the sport.
“Told him I appreciated him reaching out to Ross earlier in the season,” Steele mentioned. “He didn’t have to do that, so it was appreciated.”
Steele averaged 92 mph Sunday along with his fastball, which he used two-thirds of the time. His slider, which he threw for 26% of his pitches, induced a 40% whiff price, in keeping with Statcast.
“I don’t want to complicate it either,” Ross mentioned of Steele’s pitch combine. “The guy we’ve got right now is pretty darn good.”
Said Steele: “Just using my eyes to try to read what’s going on. I was doing a good job of getting my four-seam into the righties.”
For the second straight begin he lasted a minimum of six innings with out giving up an earned run. He achieved that benchmark for the primary time in his profession Tuesday in opposition to the Washington Nationals.
Steele has allowed three earned runs in 31⅓ innings over his final six outings since July 22, and his 0.86 ERA throughout that span is the bottom within the majors amongst qualifiers.
“What he’s been able to do, even before the second half, what he’s settled into, that’s who he is,” Happ mentioned. “That’s who he might be.
“Jonny Lester being here and that advice of attacking the inside of the zone and playing that four-in to open everything else, (Steele is) taking that and really running with it.”
Despite the trouble, Steele obtained his fourth straight no-decision. But win or lose, he mentioned he’s “just constantly learning and evolving from each start.”
2. Ian Happ checked off one other milestone.
Happ turned the twenty sixth Cub to hit 100 profession homers with the franchise.
“There’s a lot of people that have played this game, and you see the people that have been there,” he mentioned. “Some of those things you get to check off, it’s humbling and it’s something I take a lot of pride in.”
Happ mirrored on how he was the topic of commerce rumors earlier this season and the shot at Cubs historical past a deal would have price him.
“Being able to be here and get a chance to do it was really special,” he mentioned. “Looking up at that switch-hitter list … that’s special to me.”
Happ on Monday turned the sixth change hitter in major-league historical past with a minimum of 11 homers in every of his first six seasons. Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, Ruben Sierra, José Cruz and Mark Teixeira are the others.
Each milestone additionally has include some items.
“Lester signed a bottle for me — Ace of Spades (champagne) bottle was his thing — for my first home run ever, and he signed that and I still have it,” Happ mentioned. “Rossy simply gave me a pleasant bottle of (Johnny Walker Blue Label) scotch with a bit one thing on it. Wade (Miley) gave me one thing for the All-Star Game.
“You start to accumulate stuff like that, it’s pretty cool when you look around and have a bunch of those.”
3. Justin Steele needed to weigh whether or not to achieve weight within the offseason.
Most athletes who aren’t sumo wrestlers or offensive linemen — and positively baseball gamers — attempt to shed kilos earlier than the season, however Steele mentioned that didn’t essentially work for him and this season is proof.
During seven years within the minors, he experimented with completely different sizes going into the season, “whether it was putting on weight, putting on muscle, little bit of fat that I’m going to burn through all through the season. Just trying to find the right formula for myself.”
More weight has labored for Steele, who’s listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 kilos.
“My family, we’re very active, very skinny. We do not hold weight very well,” he mentioned. “From the historical past of myself within the minor leagues, I do know that I’m going to drop extra pounds all through the season, so I knew simply by trial and error I would like to come back down with some kilos on me as a result of I do know I’m going to finish up ultimately dropping the load.
“I don’t want to be where I start losing the weight (and) I start risking myself to injury, so you kind of want a cushion. Everybody’s different.”
4. The bullpen was a bust, however there’s a motive.
Rowdy Tellez homered off Mark Leiter Jr. within the seventh to get the Brewers on the board. Brandon Hughes changed Leiter, and Hiura took Hughes’ second pitch deep to tie it 2-2.
Willy Adames drove in Kolten Wong on a sacrifice fly off Rowan Wick within the eighth. And Hiura homered once more within the ninth, a two-run shot off Kervin Castro’s first pitch.
Relievers have earned the win in six of the Cubs’ final eight victories. Ross gained’t get down on them, saying it appears to be like like “maybe that usage is catching up to them.”
“We’ve used them pretty hard and we’ve been winning a lot of games, so a lot of those guys have been getting stretched thin,” Ross mentioned. “Leiter wasn’t as sharp as he usually is. Hughesie’s stuff didn’t look fairly as sharp — it’s uncommon that he offers up harm to righties.
“It’s just one of those days. … (The Brewers have) a team that when they do barrel it, it goes in the seats a lot. Just a rough day for the bullpen. Good series overall.”
5. Seiya Suzuki had a pleasant displaying too.
It was simple to be overshadowed by Happ’s milestone and Steele’s day on the mound, however Suzuki went 3-for-3 along with his tenth homer of the season and a stroll.
“The homer, the double, the walk,” Ross famous. “The ball he hit to heart was crushed, 108 (mph) off the bat. With the wind blowing in, that’s a big-time homer.
“Really good at-bats. He had really good timing today.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com