SEATTLE — The Cubs recalled reliever Keegan Thompson on Friday from Triple-A Iowa after optioning sidearmer Jose Cuas to Iowa the day before.
‘‘Jose became a little predictable, really,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘He’s worked really hard to add the slider. And then what happens is, you get a little in the heat of the battle and kind of go back to what’s comfortable. And the hitters kind of made him pay for that, essentially, as outings kept kind of stacking up a little bit.’’
Cuas had allowed eight runs in five outings this season. The worst of those came Monday against the Padres when he was charged with four runs in a third of an inning.
Cuas already was throwing a gyro slider but added a sweeper last season, continuing to hone the shape and consistency of the pitch when he was traded from the Royals to the Cubs at the deadline. This season, according to Statcast, his sweeper accounts for 17.4% of the pitches he has thrown, and it has a 66.7% whiff rate. But his sweeper usage drops to 8.8% when he’s behind in the count.
‘‘These hitters are really good,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘And they need to have doubt in their head, and Jose needs to create that doubt. And when he does, he gets people out.’’
Doing that consistently, Counsell said, will come down to Cuas gaining confidence in the pitch.
Thompson, meanwhile, gives the Cubs another multi-inning option in the bullpen. He entered in the seventh and struck out three in two perfect innings in their 4-2 loss to the Mariners.
‘‘[The season] is brand-new,’’ Counsell said of the reports on Thompson. ‘‘He’s pitched well. Clearly, he has experience here in the big leagues. So it’s doing what he does well.’’
Thompson had a rough first outing to begin the Triple-A season, issuing two walks and allowing three runs in one inning. After that, however, he had yielded no runs and one hit in three games. He got four or more outs in each of those appearances.
Thompson appeared in the majors in each of the last three seasons, but he spent much of last season at Iowa. High walk rates plagued his early appearances as he battled mechanical issues and tried to balance a multifaceted role that sometimes required him to provide length and other times asked him to recover quickly between one-inning stints. He was back in the majors for a four-game stint in late August and early September, mostly in a multi-inning role.
Short Wicks
By the time Cubs starter Jordan Wicks made it through the fourth inning against the Mariners, he already had thrown 94 pitches. His night was over after allowing four runs. Wicks also issued four walks, tying a career high, and hit a batter for the first time in his major-league career.
Three of the four runs Wicks allowed scored with two outs in the fourth. He has yet to make it through five innings in three starts this season.
Injury updates
Right-hander Jameson Taillon (strained back) made the second start of his rehab assignment and first with Iowa. He stretched out to 3⅔ innings and allowed no runs and three hits.
Corner infielder Patrick Wisdom (strained back) had a scheduled day off from his rehab assignment at Iowa.
