Chicago Cubs reliever Ryan Pressly was humbled in front of the fans at Wrigley Field. The 36-year-old closer, who was supposed to be their answer in the ninth inning, found himself lit up like a Christmas tree against the San Francisco Giants.

Happ's hitter's perspective helped Pressly get back on track after an ugly outing last month. It worked, and now the Cubs' offseason trade acquisition is back in the ninth inning.

Craig Counsell reacts to Ian Happ’s two-homer breakout as the Chicago Cubs stay hot in the NL Central vs. the Phillies.

The Chicago Cubs have had a great start to the year and are squarely in the World Series contender conversation. With their window currently shortened by the fa

“I think everybody had a lot of faith that this was coming,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s fun to see because this is what makes a good team. This is what makes a good offense, is that Ian can kind of be not clicking, and then he gets clicking and it wins you a game.”

The Cubs are close to getting their ace back. Shota Imanaga tossed two innings in a rehab start at the Arizona Complex League on Monday night. The lefty struck out four and allowed just one hit while tossing around 25 pitches. The team wanted him to get to 40 on the evening, so he immediately threw another 15 in a bullpen after his outing.

Ian Happ homered twice, including a two-run shot in the sixth inning that rallied the Chicago Cubs to an 8-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Ian Happ hit two of the Chicago Cubs' four home runs in an 8-4 victory over the host Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.

The Pirates broke through against Brad Keller in the eighth. Henry Davis led off with a double and was sacrificed to third. Cruz hit a comebacker, but Keller’s throw hit Davis and got away from Reese McGuire and the Pirates had a 1-0 lead.