Priority No. 1 for the Philadelphia Phillies before the July 30 trade deadline will likely be some sort of outfield upgrade. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski got an up-close look at a switch-hitting corner outfielder who could potentially be a target to fill that void.
Unfortunately for the Phillies, they got a little too close of a look at what left fielder Ian Happ can do Thursday, as he hit a pair of three-run home runs — one from each side of the plate — to help the Cubs avoid a sweep.
The first home run came off of lefty Cristopher Sánchez, whose July got off to a suboptimal start after he was named NL Pitcher of the Month. The second, this one from the left side of the plate, came in the bottom of the fifth inning off of Seranthony Domínguez, who was unable to strand the two runners he inherited from Sánchez.
It was the worst start of what’s been a breakout season for Sánchez, who was charged with seven earned runs over 4+ innings of work in the Fourth of July matinee. Sánchez’s ERA on the season is still only 2.96, but as he tries to compete with teammates like Ranger Suárez and Zack Wheeler for a spot on the NL All-Star team, outings like Thursday certainly don’t help his case.
Meanwhile, even though Happ was thrown out by Phillies left fielder Brandon Marsh trying to score in the bottom of the seventh inning, the former All-Star had one of the finest days of his career, going 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double and six RBIs.
It’s unclear if the Cubs would be willing to move Happ this summer, considering he’s in the first season of a three-year/$61 million deal. But there’s no doubt that with the Cubs eight games under .500, Chicago president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is going to get calls on the 29-year-old.
While the Phillies would probably prefer to add a center fielder, they’ll likely consider corner outfield upgrades as well, which would see Marsh shift back to center field on a more regular basis. So there’s a very real possibility Happ is at least a name they’ve considered, even if he’s not the most likely solution as the Phillies seek an outfield upgrade. Perhaps he moved up the list of possibilities Thursday.
Highlights
After Trea Turner stole second base with two outs, Marsh singled into center field. It took one of Turner’s signature slides, but he beat Cody Bellinger’s throw home to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead:
Second baseman Nico Hoerner added another run for the Cubs in the fourth, singling in David Bote.
An inning after his first three-run home run, Happ hit a second, this time off of Domínguez, with two of the runs inherited:
Have a day, Happer @ihapp_1 is first cubs player to hit a home run from both sides of the plate since Victor Caratini on 7/3/19. pic.twitter.com/ih9fxFggrv
Christopher Morel singled off of Yunior Marte in the bottom of the seventh inning, bringing Seiya Suzuki in. As mentioned above, though, Marsh threw out Happ trying to add another run.
The Cubs added a 10th run in the bottom of the eighth inning, with a Bellinger fielder’s choice off of Gregory Soto bringing home Tomas Nido.
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@ihapp_1 is first cubs player to hit a home run from both sides of the plate since Victor Caratini on 7/3/19. pic.twitter.com/ih9fxFggrv