Ian Happ showed up in a big way, as the University of Cincinnati product hit a pair of home runs and added an RBI single to back Jake Arrieta and lead the Cubs in a 6-2 victory.
Happ smacked a two-run homer in the second and added a solo shot in the fourth, both off Tim Adleman, for his second career multi-homer game. The rookie finished with four RBIs, tying his career high, which he’s now accomplished three times.
“He came home, his home away from home via Pittsburgh,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Happ. “Both balls were really well struck.”
Arrieta benefitted from an Anthony Rizzo solo home run with two outs in the seventh, his 19th. The right-hander has had success in Cincinnati, throwing his second no-hitter at Great American Ball Park in April 2016. On Sunday, he gave up a single to Joey Votto with two outs in the first, and that was it over seven innings. The right-hander struck out six and walked two. Votto’s two-run single in the eighth off Koji Uehara accounted for the Reds’ only runs.
Adleman, who served up three homers in his last start against the Brewers, and gave up eight over 28 innings in five June starts, exited after five innings.
“I felt pretty good about pitch execution, a lot better than I have been the last few starts,” Adleman said. “It was just those two to Happ, really, and maybe one to [Javier] Baez where he hit the double. But when a guy is really tough on your lineup, especially a good lineup like ours, it makes it tough. It makes those mistakes that you make even a bigger deal than they are.”
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