Cubs' Wood single-handedly beats Diamondbacks

Published February 05, 2015

Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Cubs starter Travis Wood tossed seven stellar innings and went 2-for-3 at the dish with a home run and four RBI to lead Chicago to a 5-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks to kick off a four- game series from Wrigley Field.

Wood (1-2), who allowed one run on six hits while striking out nine, is not your average pitcher. He has now homered in all five of his major league seasons and is the only active pitcher with more than one game with four-plus RBI. He has seven career home runs.

"Anything I can do to help the team," said Wood. "I'm not just out there in the 9-hole to fill a spot. You have to try and be the best you can at it."

Welington Castillo and Ryan Kalish each had two hits for Chicago, which has won two of its last three games.

Bronson Arroyo (1-2) surrendered all five runs on eight hits for Arizona in 5 1/3 innings to absorb the loss. Mark Trumbo went yard in the defeat.

Starlin Castro singled with one away in the bottom of the second inning and scored two batters later on Castillo's bloop single to right. Kalish followed with a single to put two on for Wood, who crushed a no-doubter over the wall in left for a 4-0 Chicago lead.

"There's just so many fine things in this game," said Arroyo. "You pop Travis Wood up there, you maybe get out of the inning."

Wood made it 5-0 with an RBI double to the warning track in his next at-bat in the fourth.

Wood struck out at least one batter in every inning besides the third and he didn't allow an Arizona baserunner to reach third base until the seventh. After Cody Ross struck out to start the seventh, Trumbo took Wood deep for his seventh homer of the season. Miguel Montero followed with a double and moved to third on Tony Campana's groundout, but pinch-hitter Cliff Pennington popped up to Anthony Rizzo in foul territory to end the threat.

Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop each pitched scoreless innings of relief for the Cubs.

Game Notes

The game was delayed for an hour and one minute due to rain ... Arizona went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven men on base ... Paul Goldschmidt went 3-for-4 for the D'Backs.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/cubs-wood-single-handedly-beats-diamondbacks