Chicago Cubs slugger Patrick Wisdom came into Wednesday tied for the league-lead in home runs, but one element of his red-hot start seems to be flying under the radar.
Wisdom hit home runs in four consecutive games in recent days, but perhaps more remarkably than the power surge that has led to him hitting eight home runs for the Cubs is when he’s hitting those long balls.
Coming into Wednesday’s game, Wisdom was sporting a .282 batting average when facing a two-strike count, and he had clubbed nine extra-base hits in those situations, including six home runs, by far the most of any hitter in baseball.
That dominance continued on Wednesday, as he laced an RBI triple off the right field wall to add to the Cubs’ lead in a sweep-clinching win over the Oakland Athletics.
Wisdom has struck out 19 times this season when facing two strikes, but also came into the game with a sterling 1.138 OPS in those situations.
When asked by NBC 5 Chicago’s Leila Rahimi about his two-strike approach during an interview on 670 the Score, Wisdom had a simple summation.
“It’s slowing every thing down,” he said. “Really seeing the pitch early, and seeing it late, and just trusting that you’re going to get your swing off, and trusting your plan, approach and your eyes. Umpires are not perfect, and we’re going to get rung up on bad calls, but mentally you stay with it and don’t let it get to you.”
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Wisdom says that approach is evolving as the season wears on, and he’s just trying to keep an even head.
“It’s a work in progress, and you take it in stride. You just need to slow everything down,” he said.
Wisdom and the Cubs will now head home to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning Thursday night at Wrigley Field.