WASHINGTON — In his first start since June 14, Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks found himself in a jam in the second inning.
Wicks allowed three consecutive hits to load the bases with no outs. But he seemed to settle in after a mound visit by catcher Miguel Amaya. Third baseman Isaac Paredes made a diving stop to start a double play that manager Craig Counsell called huge. Even though a run scored, it prevented a big inning.
“That play definitely helped, I’ll tell you that,” Wicks said. “Seeing that and then being able to get out of that situation was huge. Then from there, I was just able to get ahead, and the guys played unbelievable defense behind me.”
Wicks looked healthy, allowing one run and four hits in five innings in the Cubs’ 14-1 victory Sunday over the Nationals. Given right-hander Kyle Hendricks’ struggles, Wicks could pick up the slack down the stretch.
“You can’t really mimic being on a big-league field in a big-league atmosphere,” Wicks said. “To be able to go out there, everything felt great, and I was happy to just settle in.”
Bullpen depth
Reliever Shawn Armstrong’s son, Declan Cutter Armstrong, is confused about whom to root for after the Cubs claimed his father, making them the third team to employ Armstrong this season after the Cardinals and Rays.
But Declan — whose middle name comes from the pitch that got Armstrong to the big leagues — is excited to watch his dad pitch. Armstrong had a 5.40 ERA with the Rays but found a rhythm with the Cardinals and lowered it to 2.84.
Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins drafted Armstrong when he was the assistant general manager in Cleveland. Armstrong played with Cubs catcher Christian Bethancourt when they were with the Rays.
“I’m excited to be here,” said Armstrong, who threw a scoreless inning. “These guys are playing unreal baseball, and I’m just here to do what I can to help get the ‘W’ every day.”
Counsell didn’t designate a role for Armstrong other than to get outs.
“He’s experienced,” Counsell said. “He had a brilliant season in the big leagues last year. Looks like he got on track, had some bad luck, frankly, early in the year. We’ll call on him to fill a need to get outs when it’s appropriate.”
Darren Baker’s debut
The Nationals added Darren Baker, son of ex-Cubs manager Dusty Baker, to their roster. He pinch-hit in the ninth inning and hit a sharp single up the middle on the first pitch. His parents were in the stands.
Baker, who reached the majors after four minor-league seasons, might be best known for being a Giants batboy in the 2002 World Series. In Game 5 against the Angels, the young Baker went to the plate while the ball was in play, and the Giants’ J.T. Snow picked him up while scoring to prevent a collision as the trailing runner headed home.
Roster moves
With rosters expanding to 28, the Cubs recalled Wicks and infielder Miles Mastrobuoni from Triple-A Iowa.
To make room on the 40-man roster, they also recalled infielder Nick Madrigal (broken left pinkie) and put him on the 60-day injured list.
“It’s like a tale of two seasons,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “Everyone’s putting so much pressure to be able to score runs and produce. Right now, it feels like the opposite.”
The Cubs finished August 18-8. Entering Saturday, they had a 5.2% chance of clinching a wild-card spot — an improvement from the 3.1% chance they had Aug. 1.
“Christian [Bethancourt] just keeps coming up with big hits,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It was a big hit, got the game going, and Dansby [Swanson] had a big hit. We ran the bases well to get us some runs.”