CHICAGO -- Patrick Wisdom arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field with a freshly trimmed mustache on Friday night. It was a new look on his birthday, which he celebrated with a pair of home runs.
"We may have to all, as a group, go with the 'stache," Cubs manager David Ross quipped. "If that's the way it's trending."
Ross still had his usual beard on Saturday, joking that he did not think he could pull off Wisdom's look. The manager may have to reconsider picking up his razor, given that Wisdom went out and launched two more homers in a 7-0 rout of the White Sox, continuing what is swiftly swelling into one of baseball¡¯s unlikeliest Rookie of the Year campaigns.
Ross held his ground after Wisdom¡¯s latest display.
¡°I'm on TV too much to look that bad,¡± Ross said with a laugh. ¡°It's working good for Wiz. Unless we go team-wide, I'm going to spare you guys that look.¡±
No one could have predicted that Wisdom, who turned 30 years old on Friday, would be a National League Rookie of the Year contender this season. He came up from Triple-A Iowa in late May, and then the overhauling of the Cubs' roster at the Trade Deadline created a wide-open opportunity for the slugger.
Wisdom is making a powerful impression.
The two homers that Wisdom pulled deep to left field on Saturday came against American League Cy Young Award candidate Lance Lynn. Those blasts -- combined with a grand slam by Rafael Ortega -- helped push Lynn's ERA to 2.59 from 2.02 on the season. The offensive outpouring was also plenty in the way of support for Cubs starter Alec Mills, who turned in 8 1/3 solid innings.
¡°It's unbelievable,¡± Mills said. ¡°In other spots, he wasn't given the most chances. Obviously, in a situation like this, getting everyday playing time, it's been special to watch.¡±
Here is a look inside Wisdom¡¯s performance:
? With 25 home runs, Wisdom is now one blast shy of matching Kris Bryant¡¯s single-season Cubs rookie record. Bryant hit 26 in 2015 as part of his NL Rookie of the Year-capturing campaign.
? Wisdom became the first rookie in Cubs franchise history to have a multihomer showing in consecutive games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
? Wisdom is the ninth player (done 13 times) to have two or more homers in back-to-back games, and he¡¯s the first since Javier B¨¢ez (April 10-11, 2018). Others on this list include Alfonso Soriano (2008), Aramis Ramirez (2006), Derrek Lee (2005), Sammy Sosa (twice in 1998, and once each in 1999 and 2002), Andre Dawson (twice in 1987), Dave Kingman (1979) and Billy Williams (1968).
? Wisdom is now averaging 10.04 at-bats per home run. For perspective, the only better qualified single-season rates in Cubs history belong to Sosa: 9.0 AB/HR in 2001, 9.7 AB/HR in 1998 and 9.9 AB/HR in 1999. Sosa owns Chicago¡¯s best career rate with 12.8 AB/HR.
Wisdom¡¯s eyes went wide when told of some of the names he has joined in Cubs history with his latest showing.
¡°That's really cool. I had no idea, honestly,¡± Wisdom said. ¡°I'm kind of speechless with those names you dropped, because those are obviously great players, phenomenal players, even Cub legends -- you can even put that title on there. That's really, really special. I'm honored.¡±
On the season, Wisdom has hit .259/.321/.586 in 82 games with a 138 wRC+, indicating that he has been 38 percent above MLB average in the batter¡¯s box. There is plenty of swing-and-miss (39.3 percent), but Wisdom has made up for it with the power, especially when he finds himself in the midst of a hot streak.
In his first at-bat against Lynn, Wisdom struck out swinging on a low-and-in sinker. The slugger slammed his bat and helmet to the ground in frustration.
¡°I get frustrated with a certain at-bat,¡± Wisdom said. ¡°And I've got to flush it and move on and take the positives and learn from it, and get on to the next at-bat and try to get more good swings off.¡±
Wisdom connected on a 2-2 changeup from Lynn for his solo shot in the fourth, and then ripped a 2-2 four-seamer out to left for his second blast of the night an inning later.
"When we make a mistake, he hits it,¡± said Lynn, who was in the Cardinals¡¯ organization with Wisdom. ¡°You find guys that get in zones like that, and that happens. Right now he's in a good spot -- he gets a chance to play. I've known Patrick for a long time. He kind of got passed over for years, finally getting his opportunity. He's making the best of it, obviously.¡±
And, for the time being, Wisdom is doing it with the new look.
¡°The power of the mustache, I guess,¡± Wisdom said with a smirk.