The Chicago Cubs have a real gem here in Ian Happ. During Spring Training, Ian has really made a name for himself. He is knocking the cover off the ball which is only helping the Cubs down the road. The main problem Ian has is that he plays the infield because the Cubs are going to be solid in those positions for years to come. Ian Happ does well against this major league pitching that he is seeing now. This down the road as soon as next year see himself as a trade chip when Jake Arrietta's contract is up after this season. The Cubs will be in the market for a starting pitcher next year and Ian Happ might be what Chicago uses to persuade a team for a great starter.
With all the talent the Cubs have in the minor leagues, it's a great problem to have right now. I've been waiting my whole life to finally see the Cubs in this position.
Bats picking up the slack from an error
The Chicago Cubs started scoring their runs as soon as the second inning. After a walk to Jeimer Candelario, the Cubs decided to bunt successfully with Matt Szczur moving the runner to third. That is when Ian Happ started out his getting his first of three hits. During this at-bat, Ian took the first pitch that he saw over the right field fence for a two-run homer. This put the Cubs up 2-0.
.@ihapp_1 crushing baseballs out of the park. Where have we seen this before? 💪🏻 pic.twitter.com/l9FDAAqQcl
— Barstool Cincinnati (@UCBarstool) March 14, 2017
In the fifth inning is when we saw an error by catcher Willson Contreras.
We saw a throwing error by him trying to catch Cory Spangenberg stealing third after he slapped a double. This allowed Cory to score. That was all the Cubs would allow from the offense of the Padres. Contreras later in the same inning and made up for his error with a double that scored Albert Almore. There was a chance for two runs to score, but Jon Jay didn't make it fast enough to home.
Jon tagged after a great relay throw. The rest of the offense of the day came from Ian Happ. He had another two singles.
John Lackey with a solid outing
Our pitching had a solid outing led by John lackey. John went for three solid innings only letting one run across the plate. This extended from the throwing error by Willson Contreras.
The rest of the Cubs relievers only allowed six hits in the six innings of work yesterday. They also accounted for one walk and six strikeouts. Jake Buchanan, David Rollins, Aaron Brooks and Jhondaniel Medina only allowed one base runner after the fifth inning.
