Cubs rookie Lake continues to make big splash
Travis Wood was the most exciting player the Cubs had before the all-star break.
Since the break, it’s been all Junior Lake.
Wood struggled badly in Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Dodgers, giving up 7 hits and 5 runs in 31⁄3 innings. He threw 41 pitches in the third inning alone on the way to 96 for the game.
Lake, on the other hand, made some history Friday by recording his second career 4-hit game. That career spans all of 16 games.
Since at least 1916, no other Cubs player had collected a pair of 4-hit games over his first 16 played. Lake became the first major-leaguer to accomplish the feat since Bo Hart of St. Louis did it in June 2003.
“I feel so good,” Lake said through interpreter Franklin Font, a coaching-staff assistant. “I’m seeing the ball real well now.”
Lake wound up 4-for-5. He has 24 hits in 67 at-bats (.358).
As for Wood, manager Dale Sveum absolved him of too much blame because Wood has been the team’s most consistent pitcher. He fell to 7-8 with a 3.05 ERA.
“Obviously, it took four months for something like that to happen,” Sveum said. “Not too many starters will go through a whole season without having a little hiccup.”
Wood did not have his best command.
“That’s kind of how it ended up,” he said. “I was battling all day. You can’t have 5 walks with the team they are over there as well as they’ve been playing.”
Cougars working out:This is the first year of the Cubs#146; affiliation with the Class A Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League. The Cougars play in Geneva, about an hour west of Wrigley Field, depending on the traffic. #147;It#146;s great, having it so close,#148; Cubs team president Theo Epstein said. #147;When it really sinks in is when you see the Kane County players on an off-day coming here to Wrigley and taking in a game and watching (batting practice) and chatting up the big-league players. That makes me feel great.#148;Minor-league honors:The Cubs named Kane County Cougars first baseman Dan Vogelbach the organization#146;s minor-league player of the month for July. Matt Loosen, who spent time with Class AA Tennessee and Class A Daytona, is the Cubs#146; minor-league pitcher of the month. Vogelbach, 20, batted .330 with 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 19 RBI, a .417 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging mark in 27 July games.Loosen, 24, combined to go 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in 6 July starts between Daytona and Tennessee, holding opponents to a .162 batting average while striking out 33 compared with 14 walks. On July 8 at Dunedin, he pitched Daytona#146;s first 9-inning no hitter in 17 years.Cubs help Marmol out:Ex-Cubs closer Carlos Marmol finished the game for the Dodgers and got booed.He gave up a leadoff double in the ninth to Julio Borbon, but Borbon got thrown out at third base on a pitch in the dirt. Dale Sveum was not happy with the ill-advised play. The Cubs did not score in the inning.#147;First and second and nobody out changes that ballgame around a lot,#148; Sveum said. #147;When you#146;re down by 4 runs and there#146;s no outs, you can stand on second base because we#146;ve got to get a bunch of hits. It#146;s not the greatest thing I#146;ve ever seen.#148;Borbon on the rocks:The Cubs designated outfielder Julio Borbon for assignment immediately after Friday#146;s game.