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Cubs sweep Mets behind Wood's strong outing

Cubs pitcher Travis Wood can help himself in so many ways.

Although he didn't pick up the victory Thursday night, Wood was good with the bat and with the glove as the Cubs beat the New York Mets 7-4 to sweep the three-game series at Wrigley Field.

Wood hit a 2-run homer in the Cubs' 3-run second inning. He also grounded into an RBI fielder's choice in the fourth. On the mound, Wood slowed down a hard grounder by Wilmer Flores, leading to a 1-6-3 double play in the second.

The Cubs let a 4-0 lead get away, but Anthony Rizzo's solo homer in the seventh put them ahead, and they added 2 more in the eighth.

Wood worked 5-plus innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs. He also walked five.

"It was a good day," he said. "Big hit there in the second, and I was fortunate to get a glove on that ball that was going up the middle and ended up going for a double play. Bottom line is 5 walks can't happen."

Brian Schlitter bailed Wood out of trouble in the sixth, but Justin Grimm suffered a blown save by allowing Andrew Brown's 2-run homer in the seventh.

"I'm looking at him, and I said, 'I'm going to help you out,' " Cubs manager Rick Renteria said of taking Wood out of the game. "I think the situation could have escalated and gotten out of hand."

Rookie Neil Ramirez earned his first career save.

Yet another try:

The Cubs hope to go before Chicago's Landmarks Commission next month and try to win approval for their planned renovation of Wrigley Field.

Right after Memorial Day, the Cubs unveiled ambitious new plans that included increased outfield signage. They also plan to move the bullpens from the field to under the bleachers. Their plan for that included increasing the size of the doors in the outfield walls. However, the bricks and ivy on the walls are landmarked, and that could pose a problem.

But if push comes to shove, Cubs spokesman Julian Green said Thursday the Cubs would be willing to leave the doors as they are.

"We're continuing to talk to the Landmarks Commission in hopes to move forward with the process," Green said. "At the end of the day, we want to get this moving and we want to get the project done so we can move forward. If the Landmarks Commission finds, as we believe, the revised bleacher expansion meets with the landmarks criteria, then we'll move forward.

"We're ready, the revised package is done. We've communicated that we're prepared to take the bullpen doors off the table."

The Cubs would like to break ground this summer so they can have their expanded clubhouse facilities ready for Opening Day 2016. They would like the entire Wrigley renovation done by 2018, but they face the threat of a lawsuit from neighboring rooftop owners, who charge money for fans to watch games. The rooftop owners say the proposed new signs will block their views of the field.

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