Former starter Wood unlikely ‘linchpin’ for Cubs’ sagging bullpen

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Travis Wood with catcher David Ross

CINCINNATI – Travis Wood doesn’t even try to figure it out anymore or bother planning his day.

“Joe’s a tough one to crack,” the Cubs left-hander said of trying to anticipate when manager Joe Maddon might call the bullpen looking for him. “So I just make sure that I’m ready all the time. I know there’s not a situation he wouldn’t put me in, so I’m pretty much ready from Pitch 1.”

That has been especially true in recent weeks as the Cubs’ pen has struggled and Wood has emerged as the Cubs’ most reliable reliever this side of closer Hector Rondon.

“He is the linchpin to the whole group right now,” said Maddon, who consequently has leaned hard on Wood in multiple roles amid relief corps breakdowns all around him lately. “He’s been extremely valuable, to say the least, against righties and lefties.

“And I actually see him getting better, because I think his velocity’s ticking up a little bit. But I don’t want to hurt the guy, either. I don’t want to abuse him.”

Wood, whose outings have ranged from one-third of an inning to four innings this season, ranks second in the National League with 38 appearances (through Monday) – including 11 in the previous 18 days. He’s on pace for 82 appearances.

He also has stranded all 18 inherited runners this season, best in the league. And he’s produced a 2.32 ERA, 1.17 since May 8. All of which makes him one of the most valuable pitchers on the staff, especially now.

“I try not to think about it,” he said of his inherited-runners streak. “when they give me the ball, if there’s somebody on, I do everything I can to keep him from coming in, and if there’s nobody on, I do everything I can to get three outs before anybody scores.”

Wood became a force for the Cubs down the stretch last year after moving from the rotation in May. But he’s taken it to another level so far this year, without changing much about his approach, he said.

“I still kind of pitch like a starter,” he said. “I try to get contact or an out within a couple pitches instead of sitting there and trying to grind out a seven-pitch at-bat to get one out when you’ve still got to get three more, and then you might get tired, or things might go awry.

“So I try to put them on their heels quick, get ahead and attack them and let them make the mistake.”

His rise as a multipurpose reliever – this year’s “middle-inning closer” for Maddon with Justin Grimm struggling – couldn’t be happening at a better time so far this season for the Cubs.

The reshuffled pen had allowed 17 runs (14 earned) in the last six games entering Tuesday.

“You’re going to have your ups and downs as a team, as relievers, as starters,” said Wood, an All-Star starter for the Cubs in 2013. “Everybody’s going to go through their slumps. But also with that being said, everybody’s going to look for something to get better at, too. So we’ll just see what happens.”


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