Mistakes Prove Costly for Wood

Judging by the final score, Kerry Wood didn’t have his best day.

But there’s more to pitching than numbers on a scoreboard. Especially for a guy making his second start after being sidelined more than a year because of reconstructive elbow surgery.

“You’ve got to remember, this is a guy who hasn’t pitched for a year, and he threw pretty darn well,” catcher Joe Girardi said after Wood gave up seven runs in the Chicago Cubs’ 11-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday in Chicago. “To come back five days [after his first start] with the same velocity and better breaking stuff, that’s pretty encouraging.”

Wood (1-1) threw 104 pitches, 60 for strikes, with his velocity reaching 97 mph. He struck out six.

Wood gave up three-run home runs to Kevin Young and Brian Giles, giving the Pirates all the runs they needed. He walked five, hit one batter and threw one wild pitch in 6 2/3 innings.

“I thought my stuff was better today,” Wood said. “My velocity I thought was better, my breaking stuff I was able to throw more consistently in the zone, my changeup was better. It just didn’t have the same results.”

The Pirates had their first three-game sweep at Wrigley Field since April 20-22, 1990.