Chicago Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks finally delivered on his promise to pitch deep into a game, holding the Houston Astros to two runs over six innings in the Cubs’ 7-2 victory on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. It was Wicks’ first quality start of the season, and it came at a time when the Cubs desperately needed it.
Wicks had been frustrated through the first three weeks of the season, failing to reach the sixth inning in any of his four starts. He had also walked nine batters in 17 innings, a byproduct of his increased swing-and-miss rate but also of some command inconsistencies.
But on Tuesday, Wicks was locked in from the onset. He 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.
The Cubs offense gave Wicks plenty of wiggle room to attack the Astros, scoring five runs in the first inning. Cody Bellinger hit a two-run homer, and Mike Tauchman followed with a three-run homer. Tauchman added a solo home run in the eighth inning for his second career multi-homer game.
Bellinger left the game in the seventh inning with a right rib bruise after colliding with the center-field wall attempting to catch Yainer Diaz’s double. X-rays were negative, and Bellinger said he hopes to be ready to play in Wednesday’s game.
With a challenging stretch of 16 consecutive games ahead, the Cubs will need their starting pitchers to cover more innings. Wicks’ performance on Tuesday is a positive sign that he can be a big part of that.
