(670 The Score) The Cubs just got done taking a crash course in seven-inning doubleheaders.
Over the course of the last three days, the Cubs played five games against the Cardinals, including doubleheaders that they split Monday and Wednesday. Each end of the doubleheader was seven innings, a new format that MLB has adopted in conducting a 60-game season amid the challenges of a pandemic.
From his perspective, Cubs outfielder Ian Happ was a big fan of the seven-inning structure and wants MLB to keep implement it permanently.
“I love seven-inning doubleheaders,” Happ said on the Dan Bernstein Show on Thursday morning. “I was telling guys as I was walking around before the start of the series, ‘Guys, I know it’s been a while for a lot of you since you played a seven-inning doubleheader. These are awesome. They’re wonderful.’ It’s a huge game-changer. If we ever play a nine-inning doubleheader again, I don’t know what we’re doing.”
The Cubs’ wins against the Cardinals in the doubleheaders both featured late drama with infielder David Bote playing the star role. Bote hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning Monday, then followed that with the go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning Wednesday. While the games were played at Wrigley Field, the Cubs were the road team in the nightcap of each doubleheader because they were makeup games.
Happ detailed the advantages of playing 14 innings in a day instead of 18.
“It’s exciting,” Happ said. “It limits the amount of time guys are on their feet. It lets the starters play both games for the most part. It keeps away from hurting anybody in the bullpen. I’m all in and think it’s something that should continue.”