In a rough patch, Cubs rookie left-hander Jordan Wicks has made the most of his veteran teammates’ willingness to help.
Knowing Jameson Taillon wouldn’t sugarcoat his answer, Wicks sought his perspective after allowing four home runs to the Dodgers last week. As Wicks tells it, Taillon shared his own experiences as a young player and the importance of not overreacting to bad starts.
“That was huge for me, just to keep that confidence,” Wicks said.
Struggling with his changeup command, Wicks solicited advice from Kyle Hendricks, who has made a long career out of executing his changeup.
“I felt like I was losing it a lot arm side in the last couple outings,” Wicks said. “And so we talked about putting it a little bit deeper in my hand.”
Those conversations didn’t result in an immediate turnaround. In the Cubs’ 4-3 loss to the A’s on Tuesday, Wicks struggled against the bopping top of the order, allowing four runs on three homers in five innings. The four runs tied for the third-most he has allowed in his career. Wicks hasn’t found a consistent rhythm since returning at the beginning of September after 2½ months on the injured list with a strained right oblique.
But Wicks battled to get through five innings. In that way, the laborious start was an informative part of the 25-year-old’s development during a season shortened by two separate injuries.
“Tonight was definitely a step in the right direction,” Wicks said. “I feel like it was better than it has been. Made a couple mistakes, and they took advantage of it.”
Wicks got ahead in the count against the first two batters he faced. But while he struck out Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker got a hold of a fastball for a single. Then Wicks left a 93.5 mph fastball belt high to Shea Langeliers, who drove it halfway up the left-field bleachers.
“From the beginning, it was kind of a little bit of a struggle, to be honest,” manager Craig Counsell said. “The misses were just big enough to get him into trouble.”
The next inning, Wicks issued a leadoff walk to Jacob Wilson. But he kept that plate appearance from haunting him by striking out Tyler Nevin on 11 pitches and — after giving up a single to Daz Cameron on a sharp comebacker — he fielded Max Schuemann’s grounder to initiate a double play.
Wicks gave up solo home runs to Butler and Langeliers in the third and fifth innings, respectively, but he avoided big rallies. He escaped the fourth unscathed, striking out Butler on a changeup for the final out.
“The changeup was a lot better today,” Wicks said. “It’s really good to have that back.”
The Cubs’ bullpen held the A’s the rest of the way, with Daniel Palencia contributing two perfect innings.
The A’s lead, however, put the game just out of reach. The Cubs scored their first runs in the third inning. Ian Happ set the tone with a solo homer to lead it off. Singles from Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger and Michael Busch led to a second run.
Then the offense went quiet. A’s right-hander Mitch Spence struck out the side in order in the fifth inning to end his start on a high note.
In the ninth, Happ ended the scoring lull with a solo homer off closer Mason Miller. The 103.2-mph fastball was the fastest pitch hit for a homer in the Statcast era (since 2015). And Happ’s 25th home run of the season tied a career high.
But Miller retired every other hitter he faced to earn the save.