(670 The Score) Cubs left fielder Ian Happ batted leadoff in the first 84 games that he played this season, but that changed last weekend at Yankee Stadium.
Amid prolonged struggles at the plate, Happ had Friday off and then moved to seventh in the lineup Saturday and batted sixth Sunday. Second baseman Nico Hoerner led off against left-handers Friday and Saturday before first baseman Michael Busch led off Sunday.
Happ is hitting .228 with a .701 OPS and .326 on-base percentage this season. He was 3-of-47 in his past 12 games before sitting out Friday and responding with a combined three hits across Saturday and Sunday.
The move out of the leadoff spot wasn’t a surprise for Happ, as he told the Rahimi & Harris Show on Tuesday.
“I hadn’t been as productive as I wanted to be in that spot,” Happ said. “Still walking a bunch in that kind of three- or four-week span, but not getting the hits. It’s one of those stretches, a tough one for me, where I wasn’t striking out a ton, but the balls I was hitting just weren’t falling. I didn’t think the at-bats were bad. I didn’t think it was bad swings or ugly at-bats one after the other. I just felt like every time I’d put the ball in play, it would go to a fielder.
“Nico has been super productive against lefties. Obviously, Busch has been productive against everybody. But putting the lineup in a situation where the guys that are at the top or the order are setting the stage for (Kyle Tucker), Seiya (Suzuki) and (Pete Crow-Armstrong). For me, I’m comfortable hitting in the middle of the order.
‘Whatever the team needs and however I can help this lineup mesh the best, that’s what I’m going to do.”
The Cubs will start the second half of the season Friday when they welcome the Red Sox to Wrigley Field for a three-game series.