Boyd deals 7 strong while Happ powers out of slump in Cubs' rout

KANSAS CITY -- Cubs manager Craig Counsell has acknowledged that plenty of his players have been feeling the compounding effect of playing 17 games in a row with no off-days at this point in the season. That has added another layer to just how well the North Siders have been playing of late.

“These are always challenging stretches,” Counsell said. “There’s days you go in and you’re really worried about everything. There’s days you go in and think you feel pretty good. The starting pitching has been a big reason why we’ve been able to get through it.”

That held true on Sunday, when Cubs lefty Matthew Boyd authored seven solid innings to lay the foundation for a 10-2 win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. That continued a strong run of outings for Chicago’s starting corps, which has helped the ballclub piece together a 12-5 record in the 17 days leading into Monday’s team off-day.

“It speaks to the quality of this group,” Boyd said. “I think our best baseball is still ahead of us. We’re playing great right now as a squad collectively. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of fun to be in this clubhouse, a lot of fun to be a Cubbie. We’re excited for what’s ahead.”

Here were three keys to Sunday’s win in Kansas City:

1. Boyd keeps cruising

The further removed Boyd gets from the left knee surgery he underwent in May, the more the veteran lefty looks like the All-Star and rotation leader that helped guide the Cubs to the playoffs a year ago.

That was the case again at Kauffman Stadium, where Boyd limited the Royals to two runs -- both via a homer from Starling Marte in the fourth -- over seven innings. Boyd scattered five hits and issued three walks, but he navigated his way out of the handful of jams encountered deeper into his outing.

“He did a really nice job,” Counsell said. “And he’s been pitching so well since he’s come off the injured list and really been a big boost to what we’ve done in the starting rotation.”

Overall, Boyd improved to 8-1 on the year with a 3.50 ERA for the North Siders, but he has been particularly strong since returning from the injured list in late June. In nine outings since being activated, the left-hander has gone 6-0 with a 2.43 ERA for the Cubs, who have posted an 8-1 record in those games.

Boyd has also been a key part of a strong stretch for the Cubs’ rotation as a whole. Dating back to July 4, Chicago’s starters have combined for a National League-leading 2.91 ERA. The 176 1/3 innings logged by the Cubs’ rotation in that time period ranks first in the Majors.

“It’s a total group effort,” Boyd said. “From the seven guys [helping the rotation] to [catchers] Carson [Kelly] and Miguel [Amaya] as well. It’s awesome. We really believe in this group. We’ve been on a good run.”

2. Happ powers way out of slump

Prior to Saturday’s game, Counsell made this statement about Ian Happ amid an extended slump for the veteran switch-hitter: “He can carry the team hitting left-handed, and he has done that at times this year. So, that’s going to happen again. … He’ll get it going.”

Happ made good on that prediction.

After ending an 0-for-22 drought with a home run on Saturday night, Happ added a two-run blast in the sixth inning to help break Sunday’s game open for the North Siders. The left fielder ended Sunday with three hits, giving him a 5-for-7 showing since snapping out of that hitless funk.

Happ’s home run on Sunday gave him an even 20 on the year for the Cubs, making this his sixth season with at least that many blasts. Happ is the 11th player in club history to have at least six tours featuring at least 20 homers, joining Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson, Alfonso Soriano and Bill Nicholson among those with exactly six such seasons for Chicago.

“He’s the one guy not happy about [the off-day],” joked Counsell.

3. All-around day for Cubs’ lineup

Happ’s home run provided a jolt for the Cubs’ offense, which managed to be productive without much in the way of slugging to that point.

Before Happ cleared the fence against reliever Easton McGee, Chicago’s hitters churned out 10 singles within 11 hits to that point. Michael Conforto, Nico Hoerner and Alex Bregman (twice) each delivered an RBI single, helping the Cubs also score six of their first seven runs with two outs. Chicago’s first 10 hits came off Royals sinkerballer Randy Dobnak.

“It’s sinkers and it’s contact,” Counsell said of Dobnak. “And we did a good job of just making contact and making good contact and having good at-bats, and not kind of getting too greedy where the weak contact comes. It was a good approach and we strung together really good at-bats.”

That blast from Happ then sparked a run of four extra-base hits across the sixth and seventh innings. Hoerner led off the seventh with a double and -- two batters later -- Amaya launched a three-run homer to left to put the Cubs up, 10-2. Pete Crow-Armstrong added a double later in the inning.