(670 The Score) As the Cubs remain 5.5 games back in the race for the final National League wild-card spot, a common refrain has been that they need to sweep a few series down the stretch to really get back in the mix.
To that end, many felt the Cubs’ 7-2 loss to the Marlins on Sunday was a big missed opportunity after they won the first two games of the series in Miami. But in the mind of Cubs outfielder Ian Happ, the focus on sweeping series is a bit overblown. He knows the difficulty in doing so and just wants the Cubs to focus on playing good baseball.
“I saw some stuff after the Marlins series about not being able to finish series and we had one at home (recently against Blue Jays) where we had a chance to sweep,” Happ said on the Bernstein and & Holmes Show on Tuesday. “You know, if you lose the second game of that series and you win the final game and you win the series, I don’t know if it’s the same narrative. So for us, it’s being able to play good baseball, it’s continuing to be able to win series and just stack those on top of each other. This is the big leagues. This is the highest level in the world. It’s not easy to sweep teams. It’s not easy to win three games in a row. You’ve seen it from us all year. Even when we were struggling in the middle of the year and not putting up runs and having a tough time, we weren’t getting swept. It’s hard to sweep in the big leagues. It’s really challenging. And so just to keep playing good baseball (is the focus). We lose that game in Miami, the last game of the series, and we bounce back and put up a bunch of runs yesterday and run away with one. So keep doing that, keep building the momentum.”
The Cubs have won their past three series and are 7-3 in their past 10 games, but they haven’t made up any ground in that stretch as the Braves, who hold the final NL wild-card spot, are also 7-3 in that span.
The Cubs visit the Pirates on Tuesday evening. First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. CT. The game can be heard on 670 The Score or on the Audacy app in the Chicagoland area.