PITTSBURGH — It was here, in postcard-perfect PNC Park, with the dramatic backdrop of the Pirate yellow Roberto Clemente bridge spanning the muddy Allegheny River to the city skyline on the other side, that Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks made his major-league debut. A forever memory, but not the one you might have imagined.
His wife of less than a year, Megan, was here. Family, friends, 20 or 30 people in all, had parachuted in for the occasion.
“Me and my wife talk about it all the time,’’ Wicks said here Monday, the day before he would be making his first start of 2026 for the Cubs in place of injured starter Edwin Cabrera. “Such a cool park to debut in, such a nice stadium, such a nice field.
“I know the place was packed that night. I remember that, because I gave up a homer to the first batter of the game. It got loud in a hurry.’’
This was unraveling quickly. Ke’Bryan Hayes hit Wicks’ second pitch of the night down the left-field line for a home run. Bryan Reynolds lined a single up the middle. Andrew McCutcheon walked on five pitches.
Then came what the mikemen on Marquee would call the “Greatest Mound Visit Ever.” Or at least that’s what Wicks remembers. “Tommy Hottovy reminds me of it very frequently,’’ he said.
Hottovy, the Cubs’ pitching coach, made his way deliberately to the mound. You could almost feel Wicks’ heartbeat escalating with every step. Hottovy said his piece. Wicks nodded.
Connor Joe struck out swinging. Endy Rodriguez looked at a third strike. Joshua Palacios went down swinging. Wicks struck out the first two batters of the second inning, too.
From the time Hottovy made his stroll to the mound, and Wicks came out of the game after five innings, he retired all 15 Pirate batters he faced, striking out nine of them. He left the game with a 2-1 lead, and wound up the winning pitcher in a 10-6 Cubs victory. He was the winning pitcher in his next two starts, too, becoming the first Cubs starting pitcher since 1901 with wins in his first three starts.
“Wise, wise words from Tommy out there,’’ Wicks said.
Hottovy said he and Wicks kidded each other about it Monday. But his counsel, he insisted, did not rise to the level of a baseball Solomon.
“No, it’s just funny, you have a young kid making his debut, and it didn’t start the way he wanted it to, and literally all I did was remind him that he’s good, you don’t have to change anything,’’ Hottovy said.
“I told him, ‘McCutcheon is a smart hitter, he walked on a really good changeup.’ You keep doing the same thing, the rest of the lineup, they want to swing. And he punched out the side, throwing a bunch of changeups. It was just about reminding him, ‘Your stuff’s going to play.’’’
Wicks returned in 2024 and had a 2-4 record with 4.58 ERA in 10 starts, missing six weeks with a forearm strain and 10 weeks with a right oblique strain. He made just eight appearances, all in relief for the Cubs last season, and was shut down in spring training with forearm irritation in the radial nerve.
He was cleared to pitch April 18 in Iowa, went no more than four innings in his first five starts, but went six innings against Nashville and five against Memphis before being called up.
Suzuki, Hoerner sit
Continuing his recent practice of sitting down slumping egulars, Craig Counsell sat second baseman Nico Hoerner and right fielder Seiya Suzuki. Ian Happ sat Saturday and Sunday. Dansby Swanson sat Sunday.
Hoerner, who hit 4 home runs and drove in 22 runs in his first 24 games with a .908 OPS, has not homered in his last 29 games. He is batting .198 with 9 RBIs and a .543 OPS. Suzuki has not homered in 14 games since May 8. He is batting .151 .with a .381 OPS in that time, with one extra-base hit, a double, and two RBIs.
