Happ snaps out of skid with homer while Rea saves bullpen

KANSAS CITY -- The Cubs’ haul at the Trade Deadline has been on display at Kauffman Stadium for the past two nights. On Saturday evening, it was Clay Holmes’ turn to take the mound for his debut with the ballclub, following Kevin Gausman one night earlier.

Unfortunately for the North Siders, Royals slugger Jac Caglianone tormented the Cubs’ staff on Saturday, launching two home runs and adding a pair of doubles to help send Chicago to a 6-3 loss. Holmes went four innings in his first outing since mid-May, taking an important first step in settling into the Cubs’ rotation.

Here were three takeaways from Saturday’s loss to the Royals:

1. Holmes’ gets Cubs tenure rolling

One day after Gausman turned in seven stellar innings in his Cubs debut, there was excitement among the fan base over Holmes -- another big-ticket addition at the Trade Deadline -- taking the ball for the North Siders.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell issued a reminder ahead of Saturday’s game.

“The reality of this thing is he has been out three months,” Counsell said. “He hasn’t been in compete mode for a while. That part, we’ve got to quicken it up as much as we can, but it’s probably going to take a little bit of time.”

Holmes had not pitched since May 15 due to a fractured right fibula, but he was healed, healthy and ready for activation for Saturday's outing against the Royals. The righty generated 11 outs via ground balls in his four frames, but there appeared to also be some rust.

Holmes was charged with four runs on six hits, ending with two walks and one strikeout. Caglianone belted a sinker from Holmes out to center in the first inning at 111.9 mph and sent it a projected 448 feet, per Statcast. The Royals first baseman added an RBI double off Holmes in the third to put the Cubs in a 4-0 hole.

“It feels good to be back. It took a lot of work to get back to this point,” Holmes said. “It definitely felt good to just be back in the big league game. Obviously, that’s not the full goal. You want to get back and help this team win games. I just wasn’t quite sharp enough tonight, but it was a good step.”

2. Happ ends drought with homer

Cubs left fielder Ian Happ stepped into the batter’s box in the sixth inning still 0-for-August. The veteran switch-hitter had gone 22 at-bats in the month without a hit and his streak without a home run had reached 70 consecutive PAs, dating back to July 20.

“Ian’s going through a tough stretch,” Counsell said. “I think overall, left-handed, Ian still is posting a really good season. And I know there’s more really good streaks [coming], where he can carry the team hitting left-handed. And he has done that at times this year, so that’s going to happen again.”

In the sixth, Happ received a 2-1 curveball from Royals righty Seth Lugo and jumped on the pitch as it broke inside. Happ sent it sailing out to right-center field for a solo homer -- his 19th shot of the season -- to cut Kansas City’s lead to 4-3. The blast put periods on those hitless and homerless footnotes. Happ then added a double (106.7 mph exit velocity, per Statcast) off righty Steven Cruz in the eighth.

To Counsell’s point, the home run and double came with Happ hitting from the left side against right-handers. Entering the game, the Cubs' outfielder had a .354 on-base percentage and .444 slugging percentage (.798 OPS) off righties. While hitting right-handed against lefties, Happ had a .227 OBP and .291 SLG (.517 OPS) this season.

“Look, when you’re in a slump, you want results, you want a good swing,” Counsell said. “He hit three balls on the screws tonight. So, very good night. He’ll sleep good. And hopefully, we’re getting the good Ian back. I know it’s been frustrating for him, but this is a good hitter.”

3. Rea saves the bullpen

Counsell said prior to Saturday’s game that he rarely looks at series or homestands when he is breaking down a segment on the baseball calendar. For the Cubs' manager, he views a stretch of games between team off-days as his guide for mapping out pitching or individual days off.

The Cubs are in the midst of a stretch of 17 straight games between off-days (July 23 and Monday), and this stretch was more high-stress than usual. Not only did the Trade Deadline land in the middle, but there were high-profile matchups (Yankees and Dodgers), a rivalry series (Cardinals), a makeup game (Blue Jays) and multiple road games in sweltering weather.

Counsell acknowledged that both on the position-player front and in the bullpen, his team had tired players right now. With that in mind, veteran Colin Rea -- bumped out of the rotation following the trade additions -- covered four innings behind Holmes to help offer a breather for Chicago’s pitching staff.

“Colin did a nice job,” Counsell said. “We gave everybody a day off. There was nobody else that got up in the bullpen. That’s important. I know it’s a loss and that’s not good, but to give everybody a day off, it was really important.”