PITTSBURGH – The Cubs’ starting pitcher and catcher Saturday were both under 25 years old. Left-hander Jordan Wicks made his major-league debut, and backstop Miguel Amaya served as his guide with 39 major-league games under his belt.
They played like a more seasoned duo.
“Hopefully a big part of our future was the battery yesterday,” manager David Ross said Sunday, before the Cubs’ 10-1 win against the Pirates. “And so that was exciting to get eyes on that, see what that looks like. That’s just a nice symbol of where we’re going.”
After giving up a home run, single, and walk to start the game, Wicks retired the next 15 batters he faced, through the end of his outing. Of his nine strikeouts, five came all in a row.
“He did a tremendous job,” Amaya said after the game. “Great guy. He took command on all of his pitches today, dominating the batters, getting on top of them, controlling his game and executing pitches right away.”
The pair began the season together in Double-A. Amaya debuted in May, called up straight from Tennessee when Yan Gomes went on the concussion injured list. Wicks played a couple months in Triple-A Iowa before his debut Saturday.
“Miggy did absolutely outstanding behind the plate,” Wicks said after the game. “He was a real calming force for me today.”
Wicks’ changeup and his confidence attacking the strike zone stood out. But for Ross, it was even more “rewarding” watching how the rookie used his other secondary pitches, on both sides of the plate, to make his changeup even more effective.
“Guys that rely on the changeup do have this ability to read where a hitter is,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. “Is he on my fastball? Was he trying to get to my heater a little bit more? So I think he’s just something he’s learned over his career.”
Veteran right-hander Kyle Hendricks, renowned for his changeup, agreed that having a changeup-forward arsenal can force a young pitcher to learn to read swings early.
“You saw that yesterday, he froze a couple guys on heaters,” Hendricks said of Wicks to the Sun-Times. “I think that was just reading the swing. Reading the swing and reading body language.”
Hendricks got to know Wicks in spring training and has thrown to Amaya more than any other catcher this year.
“Those two, they could be around here for a long, long time,” Hendricks said. “And I’m hoping I’m sitting back on my couch still watching them in these unis.”
Cubs pitching prevails
The Cubs got another dominant start from their starter Sunday. Right-hander Javier Assad held the Pirates to one run and three hits through seven innings. It was his third straight start of over five innings and three or fewer runs.
Reliever Keegan Thompson pitched two shutout innings in his first major-league appearance since May 17. He struck out five of the seven batters he faced.
