The Chicago cub had an average of Fielder Ian Hap to run a house per month in early June this season. He had three – one in March, one in April and the other in May.
Hap coupled his fourth pair on 5 June, and suddenly the ball he hits is going out of the park with a little more regularity.
He will continue the success when the cubs open a four-game journey for St. Louis Cardinals on Monday.
“When you are sitting there with three homers in the middle of May, you are definitely disappointed,” said Hap, who hit 25 in the previous season. “You just want to do more, want to help more. But I have done this for a long time that I am confident that it is going to show at some point if you just keep swinging right. Obviously, the last few weeks, this has happened.”
This month Hap has killed eight homeers. Seven of them have come in their last 12 matches, including three in the three-game series of Chicago against Seattle Meriners over the weekend. On Sunday, before losing 14-6 on Sunday, he came in a win of 10-7 on two Saturdays.
Slugging of Happy this month.573, a significant increase from .350 slugging percentage was the average in the first three months of the season.
“We knew it was coming. He is sitting with three domestic runs about 10 days ago,” said Cubes Manager Craig Counsel. “I don’t want to say that it is expected, but a home -running streak was coming for him.”
Chicago enters the series against St. Louis, who lost three of his last four matches after winning four of his last five matches. The National League Central-Lending Cub has struggled to prevent its opponents from scoring late, scoring 31 runs in his last three defeats and 38 runs in the last four matches.
The right-handed Ben Brown (4-5, 5.57 ERA) will be on the mound to open the series for the appearance of his first career against St. Louis.
Cardinals will be looking at their long -term rivals in the standing at the first meeting between the two this season. They sit a 4 1/2 game behind the cub at the National League Central.
“Obviously, we know (cubs) are playing a good ball and it is a team in our division that we want to catch,” said outfielder Lars Nutbar. “At any time you play the cub, it is always a fun chain, and when the bet is slightly higher, there is probably a little more intensity with it.”
St. Louis saw his five-game winning streak on Sunday with a 4–1 defeat to Cincinnati Reds.
Cardinals, however, are happy that the first matchups come to the home rest at the Bush Stadium, where they are 24–15 so far.
“Our (aggressive) production has actually been more in Busch than the road,” said Cardinal’s manager Oliver Marmol. “I think a part of it is that we have a mentality to collect a hit. This does not mean that we will not kill homers or doubles, but we have to play for our strength, and we have people who can hit.”
The left-arm Matthew Libertor (4-6, 4.08 ERA) is expected to begin for the hosts. He is 0–1 with 4.38 ERA in eight career showcase (two beginnings) against the cub.
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