SAN FRANCISCO – It’s getting harder and harder to put into words what third baseman Patrick Wisdom is doing at the plate for the Cubs.
When Wisdom was brought up from Triple-A Iowa on May 25, it appeared that he would just be a stopgap until the team got healthy. But after turning into one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the last two weeks, it doesn’t look like Wisdom will be going anywhere anytime soon.
It’s not just the fact that Wisdom has been on a tear over the past two weeks, but when the team needs a big swing, he’s been at the plate.
“He’s been carrying us,” manager David Ross said. “It feels like he’s been the real offensive force for us, right now.”
Few things went right for the Cubs during their first three games against the Giants, but leave it to the red-hot Wisdom to help make sure they left the Bay Area with something to feel good about.
Wisdom’s two-homer game not only powered Sunday’s 4-3 win, but he continued to put himself on the map as a player who’s looking to do damage.
“I think it’s just slowing down,” Wisdom said. “Those homers, I think they come when I’m not trying to do too much. … I think when the homers come, it’s just being relaxed and looking for the pitch I can drive and looking for something in the zone.”
Wisdom got the Cubs on the board after they fell behind 2-0 by launching a solo shot to straightaway center field to cut the Giants lead in half.
But with the way he’s been swinging the bat, it was only a matter of time before he did it again. The moment came in his next at-bat, crushing a 422-foot, two-run homer to center to tie the game at 3 and sending the Cubs’ dugout into a frenzy. It was Wisdom’s sixth home run in seven games, his seventh homer in eight starts and his second multi-homer game of the season.
“That was incredible. The guy hits a homer every time,” center fielder Ian Happ said. “The guy’s got seven pumps already and he hasn’t even been here that long. Some of us are looking at the scoreboard and going, ‘Shoot, we’ve been here a minute and we don’t have that many. Oh my God.'”
“He’s locked in right now,” said Kyle Hendricks, who won his fifth consecutive start. “He really couldn’t be any better and as a pitcher, that makes it really frustrating when guys take the really good pitches. Then if you do make a mistake, it’s a homerun.”
Wisdom isn’t 21 or 22 years old like your average rookie. He’s 29, and after having multiple stops along the way before ultimately getting to the Cubs, saying his current hot streak was unexpected would be an understatement.
“Definitely given us more than I think we expected,” Ross said. “That would be a true statement. He’s come in and filled in really nicely and almost carried us here for a little while and kept that lineup turning over there towards the middle.”
While others might not be able to put their finger on why Wisdom is having success, he feels his comfort in the Cubs’ clubhouse has helped him feel at ease, which is clearly transferring to his play on the field.
“I’m thankful for my time in baseball,” Wisdom said. “I think more than anything, it’s just knowing that I can play this game. But fitting right in and I think it’s not only me, but I think it’s a team that I got to give credit to, because they allow you to come in and be yourself and they make you one of the guys right away. So it’s been really cool.”
