CHICAGO -- Sometimes, all it takes is one hit.
After not doing much through the first six innings, the Cubs' offense finally came through in the later innings. Both Ian Happ and Matt Shaw launched home runs in the seventh, and Dansby Swanson tallied a two-run single in the eighth in the club’s 6-1 victory over the White Sox on Saturday evening at Rate Field.
“Collectively, we had some big hits tonight,” manager Craig Counsell said. “But the two-run homer from Matt was a big one with two outs. Matt’s been swinging it great since the break. We got some confidence going there, and we got him in a good spot.”
It’s a nice sign to see both Happ and Shaw show some pop at the plate. Happ has been in a major slump offensively for the last few weeks, and Shaw has been trying to find consistency at the plate for most of his rookie season.
On Saturday, both hitters came up big. Happ crushed a hanging splitter from White Sox reliever Jordan Leasure for a Statcast-projected 391-foot home run, and Shaw tacked on a two-run homer by turning on a 95.3 mph heater at the top of the zone.
“I’ve been having good at-bats, hitting the ball hard, and not getting a lot of results,” Happ said. “So, to get a pitch I could handle and start the inning off like that, and then Matt Shaw, nice big homer to put us up.”
Happ’s home run in the seventh couldn’t have come at a better time for him. He entered the day hitting just .128 with one home run and six RBIs since June 27. Amid this stretch, the switch-hitting outfielder also lost his spot as the team’s leadoff hitter.
From Opening Day to July 10, Happ hit in the leadoff spot in all 84 of his games played. However, Counsell eventually made a switch in the final series before the All-Star break, moving the veteran down in the batting order.
Since then, Happ has batted fifth (four times), sixth (three times), and seventh (three times) in Chicago’s lineup. With his 2-for-3 day with one home run, two runs scored and one walk on Saturday, the Cubs are hoping this is a sign of what’s to come moving forward.
“Ian has run through a tough stretch, so sometimes you just need success,” Counsell said. “We can say everything you want to a player, but you need some success and need to be part of a win and contribute to a win. Ian did in a big way tonight, and that's as important as anything. I think that reinforces it’s there. Sometimes, you go through these bad stretches that we don't want to go through, but we need Ian. We need him to be himself, and we saw that tonight.”
One player who knows all about tough stretches this season is Shaw. The 23-year-old has had a very up-and-down rookie campaign, highlighted by plenty of struggles at the plate.
After hitting .172 with one home run and 18 strikeouts in his first 68 plate appearances, the Cubs optioned him down to Triple-A in mid-April. Shaw then didn’t start each of the three games before the All-Star break to reset.
That reset has certainly been a helping factor in his recent offensive numbers. He is 11-for-23 (.478 batting average) with four home runs, nine RBIs, two stolen bases and one strikeout in his eight games since the break.
“Just being able to add another spark into our offense is huge down the stretch,” starter Cade Horton said after throwing 6 1/3 scoreless innings. “So, it's been really cool to watch everything that he's been putting in, all the work he's been putting in, come to fruition.”
There’s no doubt this season has been a major learning curve for Shaw. The young third baseman has gone through week-long slumps, a stint down in the Minors and the pre-break reset, all while trying to find his groove at the plate.
While it is a small sample size since the All-Star break, the rookie’s hard work seems to finally be paying off. Shaw added an RBI walk in the eighth.
“He's been asking a lot of questions and kind of soaking things in, making adjustments, seeing what works, making more adjustments,” Happ said. “Just the at-bats and the consistency of the at-bats the last few weeks have been really good, and it's nice to see. I know how much work he puts into it.”