Two-homer game latest in Wisdom's balancing act

MESA, Ariz. -- After sending a baseball sailing over the grassy berm at Sloan Park on Sunday, Patrick Wisdom beamed as he rounded third base. It was time for Cubs third-base coach Willie Harris to back up all the spring chatter.

"He's been talking, man," Wisdom said of Harris. "He's like, 'I've been working on my jumps this offseason, doing some squats and some other explosive work. So I'm going to out-jump you.'"

In the second inning of the Cubs' 13-12 Cactus League win over the Royals, Wisdom put Harris' offseason work to the test. They both jumped and connected on an elevated high-five before the third baseman finished off his three-run homer trot.

It was one of two blasts on the afternoon for Wisdom, whose spring to date has been a snapshot of his rookie campaign in 2021. Prior to Sunday's game, he was 1-for-11 with five strikeouts. Wisdom responded with the pair of home runs against Kansas City.

"If I can go out there and win every single pitch, I think good things will happen," Wisdom said, "and that's what I look forward to doing, honestly. I just hope we can have another fun year."

Wisdom certainly enjoyed last year, when he belted 28 homers to set the Cubs' single-season rookie home run record previously held by Kris Bryant. Wisdom averaged one homer per 12.1 at-bats and ranked 10th in the Majors (min. 350 plate appearances) in isolated power (.287).

Those power numbers, however, came with a 40.8% strikeout rate, which was the highest mark in MLB in the same grouping of hitters. Only Javier Báez (21.7%) had a higher swinging-strike rate than Wisdom (19.2%).

Wisdom found ways to be an above-average hitter (115 wRC+) last season, but he understands he needs to cut down his strikeout rate. His task over the offseason was to address that issue, but without sacrificing his offensive strength.

"We were finding that middle ground," Wisdom said. "For me, it was just being more direct to the ball, not losing the barrel. And that just gives me more room for error, you know? And also, I think the mental side, not letting it kind of snowball into the game."

Givens faces hitters
Cubs right-hander Mychal Givens threw more than 20 pitches in a live batting practice session on Sunday morning. It marked his first time throwing to batters since arriving to camp as one of Chicago's new late-inning arms.

"It feels really good," Givens said after the workout. "I'm just trying to get my feet wet and trying to be able to make pitches and get the ball spinning out of my hand really well. Today, it was really good to get out there."

Worth noting
• In his second career game with the Cubs, right fielder Seiya Suzuki went 0-for-2 with a groundout and a flyout. In his first trip to the plate, he drew an eight-pitch walk.

• Reliever David Robertson was away from the team for a few days to attend the birth of a son. The righty is expected to rejoin the Cubs on Monday and is slated to throw live batting practice on Tuesday.

• With Andrelton Simmons resting a sore right shoulder, the Cubs gave the versatile Jonathan Villar a start at shortstop for Sunday's game against the Royals.

• Right-hander Tommy Nance was claimed off waivers by the Marlins. Facing a roster crunch, the Cubs recently designated Nance for assignment.

Quotable
"It's so little, minute. And as a hitter ... [when] they say to fix something, you think it's huge, right? And then they're showing me. It's literally so small. But in baseball, small is huge. It's a game of centimeters." -- Wisdom, on changes to his swing