Cubs' Jordan Wicks tests his progress against the Dodgers' strong lineup

LOS ANGELES – Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks made his 10th appearance of the season on Wednesday and his third start after the 60-day injured list.

Two separate injuries, first a strained left forearm and then a strained right oblique, derailed much of the rookie's season. But he returned just in time to help the Cubs get past the left-hander starter Justin Steele Landing on the IL.

“Tonight is a difficult task against a good team,” said the coach Craig Counsell he said on Wednesday before the series finale against the Dodgers. “But just step up and help us win.”

Although the missed time prevented Wicks from building on his promising entry into the major leagues at the end of last season, the final month of this season can at least serve as a springboard into next year.

“When you come on the 60-day IL as a pitcher, you take a lot of time,” Counsell said this week. “It's like you get a feel for hitting and getting back into it, you get a little bit of a feeling of just being locked in as a pitcher. And you go through phases during the season.”

The Cubs could soon get another pitcher back from the IL. Right-handed Hayden Wesneski threw 36 pitches in over an inning in his second rehab game with Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.

“He pitched well and was healthy,” Counsell said. “We were very encouraged by the performance.”

At least one more rehab trip is planned for Wesneski.

Steele throws bullpens

Steele (elbow tendonitis) Steele threw the first bullpen of his rehab progress on Wednesday, Counsell said. Steele is scheduled to throw another this weekend in Colorado.

“This is a real day-to-day thing,” Counsell said. “And that's why we had a really good day today. We're getting good news. That's about five days of consistently good news, which is encouraging. We have more days to share good news, but so far everything's going well.”

When Steele landed on the injured list last week, the Cubs did not rule out a stay on the injured list. He began throwing last weekend.

“If he ever felt it, we would be concerned. But we haven't felt that for a while now. And hopefully this confirms what the doctor said and that a little break is enough to solve the problem.”

Hodge is ready to go

After the relief Porter Hodge He felt his heart racing during his unsuccessful outing on Tuesday. He recovered during an injury break before the end of the game and was examined by the Dodgers medical staff.

“The team doctors had no concerns, so everything was very well investigated,” said Counsell. “No after-effects. Just normal, everything's fine.”

Starter on opening day?

Over the years, the futile effort to ask Counsell early on who would be the starting pitcher on Opening Day has become something of a running joke.

With the Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga and Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto As the Cubs face off at Dodger Stadium this week, thinking ahead to the Tokyo Series in March, the question came earlier than usual. Could Imanaga be the Cubs' starter on Opening Day 2025 in that first game in Japan?

“I've refused to answer that question for as long as I could,” Counsell said with a smile on Tuesday. “But that might be a difficult question for me to answer.”