Wicks delivers memorable debut as Cubs beat Pirates
PITTSBURGH - When his major league debut was complete, someone with the Cubs tried to hand pitcher Jordan Wicks a box of souvenir balls.
"I have first pitch, first strikeout, then I'm not going to lie, I was in a rush," he said. "He pointed at the other three and I don't really know what he said. I was like, 'You hold onto them and we'll talk about this tomorrow.'"
It's perfectly reasonable if Wicks has a little trouble wrapping his head around this one. His debut was both impressive and unusual, finally ending with the Cubs beating the Pirates 10-6 after the bullpen gave up some runs.
The first inning didn't start very well. Ke'Bryan Hayes sent Wicks' second pitch into the left-field seats for a home run. Bryan Reynolds ripped his third pitch into center field for a single. Then Wicks walked Andrew McCutchen on five pitches.
"Home run, rocket up the middle, it felt like the game was over, right?" Cubs manager David Ross said. "But he just pounded the zone, found his rhythm. He can just pitch."
Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy came out for a mound visit that proved to be very beneficial. Wicks finished the first inning by striking out the next three batters. In total, he retired 15 straight, on 9 strikeouts, as he completed 5 innings and earned the win.
"He (Hottovy) said he wanted to just slow it down for me a little bit, which I appreciated," Wicks said. "He just reminded me I was making good pitches. I wasn't missing by much. He just reminded me, 'Just stick with what you're doing. Get back in there and keep getting after them.'"
Wicks nailed down 5 of his strikeouts on change-ups, then used four different pitches on the rest. Six were swinging, three looking. According to Statcast, Wicks got 9 whiffs on 12 swings against his changeup.
Overall, he used a deep mix of pitches. He threw 34% change-ups, 24% four-seam fastball, 18% sinker, 14% cutter, with a smattering of curve and slider.
Wicks is the fourth Cubs pitcher with at least 9 strikeouts in his MLB debut. Leading the way with 10 were Mark Prior in 2002 and Thomas Diamond, who spent just one season in the majors, in 2010. Dutch Ruether in 1917 was the other pitcher with 9.
"I think in my dreams, I imagined that," Wicks said. "I thought it was unbelievable just having the guys welcome me so much today, it made it a lot easier having them to lean on. I thought Miggy (catcher Miguel Amaya) did absolutely outstanding behind the plate. He was a real calming force for me today."
Wicks was the Cubs' first-round draft pick in 2021, No .21 overall, out of Kansas State. The Arkansas native started the season with Double a Tennessee, then got seven starts at Triple A Iowa before getting the call. He said he found out Thursday that he would be making his debut in Pittsburgh.
"I kind of had a little bit of an idea when I got scratched on Wednesday," Wicks said. "I had my mom, dad (in attendance); my dad's side of the family is actually from Pennsylvania, so we had a lot of them. We had a lot of people flying in, my father-in-law, mother-in-law. The biggest thing for me was looking up there and seeing all of them. They played a huge role in me getting here today."
With an 8-1 lead after 6 innings, it appeared the Cubs would finally get that breather they were looking for and end their streak of 10 straight games decided by 1 or 2 runs. Then the Pirates started collecting hits off Hayden Wesneski, and when Bryan Reynolds smacked a 2-run double off Mark Leiter Jr., Pittsburgh had a 5-run inning.
Seiya Suzuki provided some breathing room with a 2-run double in the top of the ninth and the close-game streak ended.
Daniel Palencia come on to finish the ninth inning, but after getting two outs and giving up 2 walks, Ross turned to Adbert Alzolay, who struck out Reynolds on 3 pitches for his 21st save.
The Cubs couldn't touch the Pirates' opener, right-hander Colin Selby, who tossed 2 perfect innings. Then they scored 3 in the third against Osvaldo Bido, who walked in 2 runs. The Cubs strung together some hits in a 5-run fifth. In four straight at-bats, Ian Happ had a 2-run double, Cody Bellinger RBI single, Seiya Suzuki RBI triple and Jeimer Candelario single.
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