Jason Heyward on his struggles: ‘What can I do but keep working and stay the course?’

1:16 PM ET

CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward insists he’s doing everything he can to turn his season around, but he continues to claim bad luck has been as responsible for his sagging numbers as much as bad at-bats have been.

“Going into the All-Star break, I was feeling good in Pittsburgh,” Heyward said Tuesday afternoon. “Had three lineouts. It started going down from there. Then had some more lineouts right after the break. It’s tough. What can I do but keep working and stay the course?”

Staying the course has brought Heyward to a .228 batting average after going 1-for-4 on Tuesday night against the White Sox in a 3-0 loss. The Cubs have been slumping at the plate lately, and Heyward is once again right in the middle of it all. He’s hitting .208 in July, and overall his .630 OPS ranks 73rd in the National League and 154th out of 160 qualified players. He’s aware of the numbers, but he’s trying to ignore them.

“It is what it is,” Heyward said. “It’s too late to worry about numbers. That’s not to say I’m not going to try and finish strong. When you do it right and don’t get results, you keep doing it. I feel like I’ve done it but not gotten the results.

“If you’re hitting the ball hard and not getting results, what else can you do?”

Manager Joe Maddon has called Heyward the “unluckiest” right fielder in the league, but do the numbers bear that out? Maybe a little bit, as this is where the …

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