Pinch of Wisdom: Cubs slugger cracks pinch-hit, go-ahead slam

KANSAS CITY -- Craig Counsell had a choice.

A week’s worth of frustration had been boiling in the Cubs’ clubhouse after an offensive skid left the club in a perilous spot in the standings days before the July 30 Trade Deadline.

Entering play Saturday, Chicago hadn’t scored more than three runs in a game since the All-Star break, nor had it had a multirun inning. The latter was solved thanks to Seiya Suzuki’s two-run homer in the first inning Saturday, but it was Counsell’s decision in the seventh that finally tackled the ultimate equation.

With Pete Crow-Armstrong, who tripled in the third, up with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh with the Cubs down a run, Counsell instead turned to Patrick Wisdom -- who entered Saturday with just 13 at-bats in the month of July.

And with one swing off Royals reliever Sam Long, Wisdom swatted away an entire team’s worth of discontent in the form of a 430-foot go-ahead, pinch-hit grand slam to power the Cubs’ 9-4 win at Kauffman Stadium.

“I don’t think it really hit me until I was rounding second and saw the dugout going nuts,” Wisdom said after hitting the Cubs’ first pinch-hit grand slam since David Bote's on Aug. 12, 2018. “That was pretty special, for sure.”

It was also risky. Wisdom’s insertion into the lineup took out Crow-Armstrong’s elite defense, leaving the Cubs with a decision to make at the top of the inning.

But four runs later, that decision was a little easier to make.

“You got to play cards in the game, you got to play your chips,” Counsell said. “And that was the chip in that moment. It’s always a good feeling [when it works out].

“It [was] the seventh inning. We’re losing, we need to score. We had created a good run-scoring opportunity, so you’re going for it. If you take the lead, we had a defensive alignment, so I felt good about doing it. And it worked out.”

That defensive plan wasn’t immediately known, as Wisdom trotted out to right and Suzuki moved over to center. But after a discussion and delay between Counsell and home-plate umpire Adrian Johnson, Wisdom came trotting back into the dugout -- with a large ovation from the Cubs' contingency in Kansas City. Chicago forfeited its DH spot by swapping Mike Tauchman into center field, but Counsell’s trust in Wisdom resulted in the team's biggest second-half momentum swing.

“I think that goes a long way. To put me in that moment, it means a lot to me,” Wisdom said. “And also being able to come through is awesome. But yeah, to have me up there and for him to point at me and say, ‘Hey, you’re hitting,’ … OK, let’s go. It’s a good feeling when your skipper believes in you.”

Wisdom hasn’t had many chances, with one swing on Saturday matching his RBI total since May 29, but Counsell praised his work ethic and preparedness for that moment.

“Patrick’s swing was a huge one, for sure,” Counsell said. “It was a big spot in the game.

“And Patrick and David, they’re preparing hard every day. It gets hard when you don’t feel like you get opportunities, but they keep themselves ready and a night like tonight shows.”

The Cubs began the day by acquiring Nate Pearson from Toronto, a controllable reliever that Chicago believes will help them compete in 2025 and ‘26. But if the Cubs still have a chance for the postseason in ‘24, it will start with the offense. The North Siders have struggled mightily at the plate since May 1, turning a sizzling start to the season into what will most likely be a Deadline where the Cubs look to sell.

Chicago is still hoping to go on a winning streak similar to last season, though, and the pieces are there. Chicago entered Saturday with MLB’s best bullpen ERA (1.12) since June 27, while the rotation has posted the fourth-lowest ERA in the Majors since July 4 (3.15). But wins? Those have been hard to come by.

They will be easier if the club can start getting at-bats like Wisdom’s down the stretch.

“I think a lot of guys in this clubhouse have been doing the right thing, and we’re just kind of waiting for the pieces to fall for us,” Wisdom said. “… There’s also never been a dip in the trust and the confidence that we have in this group. I think that’s going to be good for us in the long run, but it's also frustrating in the short term when we're not putting up runs, giving our pitchers a cushion. But tonight was good. Tonight we scored a lot of runs, and it's fun to do that.”