OAKLAND, Calif. — Cubs slugger Patrick Wisdom already had made it four consecutive games with a home run when he got a hold of an outside sinker in the eighth inning Monday against the Athletics.
The two-run blast in the Cubs’ victory was Wisdom’s eighth homer of the season and put him in rare company. He became the fourth Cubs hitter in the modern era — and first since 1958 — with eight or more homers in 15 games to start the season, joining Lee Walls, Hank Sauer and Gabby Hartnett.
He failed to extend his homer streak Tuesday, but he did have a double during the Cubs’ four-run eighth inning that enabled them to beat the A’s 4-0. Marcus Stroman and three relievers combined on a two-hitter.
‘‘Big part of the field, the ball is jumping, his bat’s in the zone a really long time, he’s deep into counts, taking really aggressive swings,’’ manager David Ross said of Wisdom. ‘‘He’s got a lot of confidence in himself right now, and that’s a good thing for us.’’
Wisdom entered play Tuesday tied with the Mets’ Pete Alonso for the most homers in the majors. And hot streaks from Wisdom and center fielder Cody Bellinger, who extended his hitting streak to eight with an RBI single in the eighth, have powered the Cubs’ offense lately.
‘‘A huge thing is pitch selection on what I do damage on,’’ Wisdom told the Sun-Times in spring training, ‘‘instead of trying to be stubborn and ego-driven and beat the pitcher on his best pitch. . . .
‘‘The more consistently I can swing at pitches that are in my damage zone, the better off I think we’ll all be.’’
Stop signs
Ross said he didn’t feel the need to talk with Nick Madrigal about running through third-base coach Willie Harris’ stop sign Monday.
In the fourth inning, Madrigal doubled to put runners on second and third for Nico Hoerner. Hoerner hit a line-drive single in front of A’s left fielder Brent Rooker, whose arm the Cubs had been testing with aggressive baserunning. Yan Gomes scored from third, and Madrigal tried to go from second to home, even though Harris held up a signal to stay at third. The throw got Madrigal at the plate.
‘‘We’re grown men, been playing the game a really long time,’’ Ross said. ‘‘All these guys know when they mess up. He knows he messed up, was apologizing before he even got in the dugout to me, and he talked to Willie and said, ‘My bad, my bad, my bad.’ That’s enough.’’
It starts with pitching
The Cubs’ four consecutive series victories (against the Rangers, Mariners, Dodgers and A’s) have had as much to do with their starting pitching as with their bats.
The Cubs’ rotation entered play Tuesday with a 2.95 ERA, the best in the National League and third in the majors. With the bullpen included, Cubs pitchers had a combined 3.41 ERA, second in the NL.
