Again, it's not Travis Wood's day as Cubs lose
When Cubs manager Rick Renteria was asked Sunday about the kind of season lefty Travis Wood has had, he said it's "probably been a little bit of hit and miss."
Well, the Pittsburgh Pirates hitters did a whole lot of hitting and very little missing against Wood in a 10-4 victory at Wrigley Field.
The Pirates earned a three-game sweep of the Cubs.
"It wasn't Woody's day today, obviously," said Renteria, whose team fell to 64-79. "They came out swinging. He got 2-strike at-bats but ended up not being able to finish them off. They ended up hitting some pitches up in the zone, and it happened kind of quick."
That's quick as in 1⅔ innings to the tune of 9 hits and 7 runs, with 3 home runs.
"If I missed a pitch, they hit it out of the park," Wood said. "If I executed one, they hit it through the hole. It just wasn't my day."
For all the fuss about Edwin Jackson, Wood has had just as bad a year coming off an all-star season in 2013.
Wood saw his record fall to 8-12 and his ERA rise from 4.81 to 5.15. A year ago he made his first National League all-star team. He went 9-12 with a 3.11 ERA, reaching the 200-innings mark (exactly) for the first time in his career.
It has been a completely different story this season. Wood's innings total is 162⅔ and he likely will have 2 or 3 starts left.
One glaring difference in the stats for Wood comes in the WHIP category, or walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched. Last year it was a tidy 1.15, as he gave up 163 hits while walking 66 in his 200 innings.
This year Wood's WHIP has ballooned to 1.54 with 180 hits and 71 walks. Last season Wood was effective in commanding both sides of the plate.
"Not near as consistent as last year," he said. "The walk total will tell you that. It will be something to take into the final 2 starts and definitely something to take into the off-season."
There was a bright pitching spot for the Cubs on this sunny day.
Coming in to relieve Wood was left-hander Eric Jokisch, a product of Northwestern. In his major-league debut, Jokisch worked 4⅓ innings, giving up 6 hits and 1 run while walking nobody and striking out four.
"I felt good," Jokisch said. "I knew that they were going to want me to eat up some innings, so I was trying to pound the strike zone, keep the ball down and get early outs.
"I probably threw more pitches (67) than I wanted to, but overall I got quite a few innings in and tried to help the team out there."
It may be that Jokisch, a starter in the minor leagues, could make a start for the Cubs before the season is over. Renteria said there are no plans now to shut down Wood.
"I think he would be the first one to tell you that he would have wanted a much better season to this point, but he's continued to grind," the manager said. "He's a guy that continues to try to give you as many innings as he possibly can. He's had some games where he's been able to be efficient enough to extend his innings for us, get us deep into ballgames and there have been some where it was a little bit more difficult.
"But I think Travis is a much better pitcher than he's probably shown. I think he'd be the first one probably to tell you that. We still have a lot of confidence in him. He's got 3 more starts. I think he can hopefully finish strong."
bmiles@dailyherald.com
Cubs scouting report
Cubs vs. Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre
TV: WGN Monday; Comcast SportsNet Tuesday and Wednesday
Radio: WGN 720-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jacob Turner (5-8) vs. Marcus Stroman (9-5) Monday; Jake Arrieta (8-5) vs. Mark Buehrle (11-9) Tuesday; Kyle Hendricks (6-1) vs. Drew Hutchinson (9-11). All games 6:07 p.m.
At a glance: The Blue Jays entered Sunday 6 games out of a wild-card spot. Toronto was 11th in the American League in ERA (4.12). The Jays get it done on offense. Melky Cabrera led the team in batting (. 301) and hits (171), but he's done for the season with a broken finger. Jose Bautista entered Sunday with a line of .286/.397/.521 with 30 homers and 86 RBI. Edwin Encarnación also is a 30-homer man. Former White Sox ace Buehrle is 6-5 with a 4.05 ERA lifetime against the Cubs. He is 3 wins shy of 200 for his career. Cubs batters entered Sunday leading the NL in strikeouts (1,271). They also were second in homers (142).
Next: Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, Friday-Sunday
- Bruce Miles