Seiya Suzuki hit two home runs Sunday and is one away from matching his major-league career high of 21 before the calendar turns to July.
But after the Cubs’ 14-6 loss to the Mariners, Suzuki was more focused on the two errors he made in right field than on the home-run swing that has him on pace for 43 long balls this season.
‘‘About the at-bats today, what happened in the field, [I] was trying to make it up for the team,’’ Suzuki said through an interpreter. ‘‘[I] was trying [my] best to be more aggressive in the box.’’
Suzuki’s fielding gaffes — a whiff on a fly ball into the right-field corner and a booted base hit to the outfield that allowed the batter to reach second base — didn’t lead to any runs, a shock in a game in which the Mariners crossed home plate 14 times.
But after his defensive struggles in the past, they were the focus of Suzuki’s postgame comments as he acknowledged he’s not where he wants to be with his glove.
‘‘There’s no excuse for anything,’’ he said. ‘‘Once you’re in the field, you have to make a play. That’s what [I’m] trying to do.’’
Suzuki typically has served as the Cubs’ designated hitter this season, but he has been assigned to fielding duty more often since regular right fielder Kyle Tucker, a 2022 Gold Glove winner, jammed a finger on an awkward slide this month. Since that game, Suzuki has played right in seven of the Cubs’ 18 games, with an additional appearance in left.
Despite his past problems, Suzuki had looked better in the field this season. Sunday, however, was a return to those difficulties.
Happ’s homers
Left fielder Ian Happ finished the weekend series against the Mariners with three homers, including two Saturday.
A recent power surge has taken him from three homers at the beginning of the month to 11, with seven of those coming in his last 12 games.
‘‘When you’re sitting there in the middle of May with three homers, you’re definitely frustrated,’’ Happ said Saturday. ‘‘You just want to do more, want to help more.
‘‘But I’ve done this long enough that I have confidence it’s going to show up at some point if you just keep making the right swings. Obviously, the last couple of weeks, it’s happened.’’
Happ’s two homers Saturday moved him ahead of Kris Bryant and into 15th on the all-time franchise leaderboard. Thirteen more will move him into a tie with Hall of Fame outfielder Andre Dawson for 14th.
More important, however, the reawakening of Happ’s power is good news for the Cubs, who are looking to hang with teams that come in and slug in the hot, windy summer conditions at Wrigley Field, like the Mariners did this weekend.
Rea rocked
Despite the four homers the Cubs hit Sunday, the Mariners smacked five, including four against starting pitcher Colin Rea.
In his first seven outings after moving from the bullpen to the rotation, Rea had a 2.72 ERA and allowed only four homers. In the six games since, he has a 7.11 ERA has yielded nine homers.
