Chicago Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks always wants to pitch as deep into the game as he can.
Failing to reach the sixth inning through the first three weeks had frustrated him. He hadn’t completed five innings through four starts when he stepped on the mound Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. Wicks was locked in from the onset to deliver his first quality start of the season, holding the Houston Astros to two runs over six innings in the Cubs’ 7-2 victory.
“I feel like I put a lot of stress on the bullpen and that’s something I never want to do as a starter,” Wicks said Tuesday. “So to be able to get out there and go through six tonight was awesome. Kind of feel like I got into a rhythm and was really able to stay consistent with that.”
Wicks threw only two balls among his 14 pitches in the first inning, striking out Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez in the process. For most of the night, the Astros couldn’t solve Wicks’ changeup, which led to eight whiffs on 18 swings.
He pounded the strike zone against an Astros lineup that was aggressive early, striking out six and, most importantly, not walking a batter in six innings. Walks had been an issue through his first four starts, tallying nine in 17 innings. Some of that is a byproduct of getting more swing-and-miss this season — his 28 strikeouts lead the Cubs — and command inconsistencies.
Wicks put together a complete start Tuesday.
“We’ve made a conscious effort, especially these last two (starts) and really tried to control the pace better and really tried to be on the attack a little bit more in the last two,” Wicks said. “We’ve seen a lot of positives come out of that.”
A five-run first inning gave Wicks plenty of wiggle room to attack the Astros. Cody Bellinger’s two-run homer and Mike Tauchman’s three-run homer in the opening frame was ultimately all the Cubs needed. They added a run in the sixth without recording a hit and Tauchman connected for a solo home run in the eighth for his second career multi-homer game, the last coming in 2019 with the New York Yankees.
Tauchman’s two home runs to left field were timely. He talked with manager Craig Counsell pregame about how the best place for him to hit home runs at Wrigley Field is to the opposite field.
“He stuck to his word, which I appreciate,” Counsell said with a grin.
Tauchman, though, was more keen to talk about Wicks’ performance than his multi-homer, four-RBI game.
“That should probably be the first thing we talk about tonight is how good he was in getting through six innings,” Tauchman said. “I thought the way he attacked tonight was great. He showed that last year, showed that at times this year and that’s why I think everybody in the room thinks he can be a really big impact arm for us.”
Tuesday kicked off a challenging stretch, particularly for the pitching staff, as the Cubs play 16 consecutive days. Without an off day until May 9, Counsell said before the series opener they would need to push their starting pitchers further in games to help the bullpen. Counsell pointed to three pitchers — Adbert Alzolay, Yency Almonte and Mark Leiter Jr. — who have already appeared in at least 10 of the Cubs’ first 23 games.
“That’s a little on the high end,” Counsell said. “That means starters have to cover more innings and I think we’re equipped to do that and in a good spot to do that, but it’s definitely going to be part of the next two weeks.”
For a team already dealing with multiple key players on the injured list, which saw pitchers Kyle Hendricks and Drew Smyly join the sidelines Tuesday, Bellinger became the latest banged-up Cub. He departed the game heading into the seventh inning with a right rib bruise after he collided with the center-field wall attempting to catch Yainer Diaz’s double. As the game went on, the discomfort in his right rib increased. X-rays were negative.
Bellinger was encouraged by how he felt postgame, describing the dull pain as a good sign. He said he doesn’t have any issue rotating his upper body, but little deep breaths are uncomfortable. The Cubs will see how Bellinger feels when he wakes up Wednesday and go from there.
“We’re going to have to check on the wall, see if the wall’s OK first and then be careful around that wall next time,” Bellinger joked.
Bellinger missed 26 games last year jumping at the right-center field wall against the Astros in Houston on May 15. He sustained a left knee bruise after he came down on the padded lip of the wall cutout following a catch and then hyperextended his leg on the landing. Bellinger said he hopes he is “ready to roll” for Wednesday’s game.
