Taking your first steps in the Majors certainly comes with a good deal of stress. Experiencing his first career start as his team battles for a playoff berth at the end of August certainly raises that level due to various factors.
Luckily for Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks, his baptism took place on the road, in Pittsburgh to be precise.
The latter did not disappoint his bosses and his new teammates by registering no less than nine strikeouts during a 10-6 victory against the Pirates.
Obviously, playing on the road is a good way to counter anxiety in certain situations, because the fear of disappointing one’s own supporters does not exist.
Stress, the Cubs live in this moment, because the position they occupy in the ranking of the best second is precarious. Having gotten the better of the Pirates yesterday, they maintained a playoff berth, but the Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants and Miami Marlins are knocking on the door and there’s plenty of baseball left to play until then. end of this campaign.
By giving the ball to a green rookie, David Ross had to know what he was doing, because the margin for error is slim and the Cubs manager will have to be a fine strategist by the end.
Wicks worked five innings and gave up just one run and two hits for the hosts. Ke’Bryan Hayes welcomed him to the Majors by hitting his second offering on the other side of the fence, but the southpaw ended his night’s work giving opposing hitters next to nothing.
The tenth-ranked Cubs rookie is a nice addition to the team’s rotation heading into the stretch.
On offense, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki drove in three runs apiece, while Cody Bellinger continued his strong offensive season with two more hits.
The Pirates offense woke up in the seventh inning when it scored five runs against the Cubs, but the damage was done and the comeback ended there.
With the injury to Marcus Stroman, the Cubs had to buy time and the first career outing of Jordan Wicks has something to reassure them.
