Travis Wood could never have guessed that he would come into Saturday’s game in relief of Kyle Hendricks so early in the contest, but when he did come in, he immediately made an impact and did something that only one other player in Major League history has done.
In his fourth inning at-bat for the Cubs, Wood crushed a pitch from George Kontos over the left field wall for a home run that gave the Cubs a 5-2 lead.
According to Baseball Reference’s Play Index, Wood is just the second relief pitcher to ever hit a home run in a playoff game. The other one was New York Giants reliever Rosy Ryan, who did it in a game against the Washington Senators during the 1924 World Series.
The home run was the 10th long ball of Wood’s career, as he’s hit nine home runs during regular season play.
Wood also contributed in a big way on the mound, getting out of a potential jam in the fifth inning of the game as he stranded Madison Bumgarner on third base to keep the Cubs in front.
