A game of constant adjustments
Major League Baseball is a game of constant adjustments, particularly for a starting pitcher like Randy Wells who hadn't won a game for the Cubs since April 30.
Following an April in which he went 3-0 with an ERA of 3.45, Wells hit the worst slump of his two-year stint with the Cubs. He lost his next 6 decisions, a span of 11 starts in which he posted an ERA of 5.96.
But after some recent sessions with pitching coach Larry Rothschild, the right-hander posted his second-straight strong outing and his best this season in a 3-1 victory over the Reds at Wrigley Field Saturday.
Wells struck out five, walked one and held the visitors without a hit until the seventh inning. He made his ninth quality start in 17 outings by holding the Reds to 1 run on 5 hits in 72/3 innings.
"He's been working with Larry on staying closed, more movement on his ball and more of a tilt on his slider, and it's paying dividends," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.
"I made a couple of adjustments in my mechanics," said Wells, who improved to 4-6 and lowered his ERA to 4.67. "Mentally, you try it out in the bullpen and then take it in the game, and it worked out."
The improvements looked good on the receiving end, too.
"He was hitting inside, outside, his off-speed was good and he was taking charge out there," catcher Geovany Soto said of Wells. "He was really good today."
Not overdoing it: The Cubs didn't take batting practice or hit in the cage before Saturday's game, partly because of the 12:05 p.m. start time and partly because their manager has said recently the struggling offense needs to stop pressing and relax. Will it become a trend?
"I'll talk to the hitting coach," Piniella said of Rudy Jaramillo. "That's his department and we'll let him decide."
"I don't know if it helped or not," Geovany Soto said of eschewing batting practice, "but we got the win. I don't think that matters to us."
Down on the farm: Shortstop Elliot Soto made his debut for the Class A Peoria Chiefs Friday. A 2007 graduate of Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville, he was drafted by the Cubs in the 15th round (460th overall) out of Creighton and was quickly elevated to Peoria after hitting 6-for-16 in four games with the Mesa Cubs of the Arizona Rookie League. Soto went 1-for-4 and scored the only Peoria run in a 3-1 loss to the Kane County Cougars in Geneva.
The Chiefs and Cougars will face off in the third annual "Road to Wrigley" minor league game on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
DMB booked to play Wrigley: According to the band's website, the Dave Matthews Band will conclude its 2010 summer tour with back-to-back concerts at Wrigley Field on Friday, Sept. 17 and Saturday, Sept. 18. The Cubs will be in Miami facing the Florida Marlins. The team returns to the Friendly Confines on Tuesday, Sept. 21 to open a three-game series with San Francisco.
An official announcement from the Cubs is expected early next week, but the Dave Matthews Band's website announced tickets will go on sale to the general public on July 17 at 10 a.m. Jason Mraz will be the opening act.