Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/17/24): A’s 4, Cubs 3 – Happ Homers Not Enough

The Cubs fell behind the A’s early on Tuesday and were unable to rally back despite the heroics of Ian Happ. The Chicago outfielder blasted a pair of home runs but Oakland hung on for a narrow 4-3 victory.

Jordan Wicks‘ issues giving up the home run ball continue Tuesday, beginning with a two-run shot by catcher Shea Langeliers in the 1st. Lawrence Butler took the Cubs lefty deep for a solo dinger in the 3rd to give the Athletics a 3-0 lead.

Happ knocked his own homer off Mitch Spence in the bottom of the frame and Michael Busch floated an RBI single to right field to reduce the deficit to 3-2. Langeliers struck again in the 4th with a bomb onto Waveland Avenue that put Oakland on top 4-2.

That’s where the score remained all the way up to the 9th inning, when Happ turned around 103 mph fastball from A’s closer Mason Miller for an opposite-field homer that pulled the Cubs within one. That would be it, however, as Miller retired the next two hitters to close out the 4-3 win. (Box score)

Key Moment

Chicago had two men on base with two out in the 8th inning trailing 4-2. T.J. McFarland struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong to end the threat and clear the way for Miller to come on for the 9th.

Why the Cubs Lost

The offense couldn’t climb out of the early hole and fell just short.

Stats That Matter 

• Wicks just hasn’t been sharp since coming back from injury: 5 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 4 K, and 2 BB.
• Cody Bellinger had two more hits Tuesday and has heated up of late.
• Happ now has 25 home runs, which ties his career-high.

Bottom Line

Wicks has a bright future with the Cubs, but he is struggling right now. It’s probably because he missed so much time with injury. Happ is playing some of the best baseball of his career right now and will continue to be a very valuable player next year and beyond.

On Deck

The rubber match of the series is Wednesday at 1:20pm CT. Justin Steele returns from injury to face Brady Basso with a broadcast on MLB Network (out of market only), Marquee, and 670 The Score.