The secrets to Patrick Wisdom’s power surge?
Sorry, he’s not sharing.
“I’ll keep those close to my chest,” Wisdom said Sunday after hitting two home runs in cold and windy conditions at Wrigley Field. “Thank you, though.”
Wisdom has hit 53 home runs in two previous seasons for the Cubs, who lacked power last season. But his strength has been offset by 336 strikeouts over that span, and cutting down on his windmill struggles has been a point of emphasis while still maintaining his power.
“When he’s locked in, I feel like he’s as good as anyone in the lineup,” manager David Ross said.
Wisdom improved his lifetime average against the Brewers to .303 (30-for-99) with 11 home runs and 24 RBI.
Wisdom, who has played third base through most of his Cubs tenure, made an accurate throw from right field to nail Jesse Winker trying to stretch a single into a double for the first out of the third inning.
Alzolay’s balancing act
Adbert Alzolay kept the Cubs from getting blown out by throwing two scoreless innings. More important was the fact that he held four Brewers left-handed hitters hitless in four at-bats.
A large reason why Alzolay switched to a full-time relief role last season stemmed from the metrics that showed left-handed hitters batted .263 against him with an .894 OPS, compared to right-handers’ .194 average and .560 OPS, over his talented but injury-plagued career.
“The slider looked like it had a lot of depth,” Ross said. “He was on the attack. We’ll continue to monitor him. Two innings from him was really big, especially the way he pitched, really efficient. His stuff was electric.”
Without a left-handed reliever, the Cubs could expand Alzolay’s role if he continues to improve against lefties.
Nothing personal
The right-left hitting combination of catchers Yan Gomes and Tucker Barnhart allows Ross to split their playing time, for now.
“I’ve never done the personal catcher thing, as a manager,” Ross laughed, mindful of how he served as a specialist for Jon Lester and Bronson Arroyo.
Ross preferred to let the season progress and see if there were any tendencies before deciding whether to lean toward a specific catcher.
“I also don’t want one of my better [batters] sitting on the bench,” said Ross, who started third-string catcher Luis Torrens as the DH.
Gomes came within a few feet of hitting a grand slam but settled for a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Dazzling Dansby
Dansby Swanson hit an RBI single in the first inning and has hit safely in his first three games, batting .583 (7-for-12). His seven hits in the first three games of his Cubs career are the most since Emilio Bonafacio collected 11 hits in 2014.
