Relief pitcher Travis Wood hits first postseason HR in NLDS

It didn’t take long for Travis Wood to get comfortable at the plate. The left-hander slotted in for Game 2 starter Kyle Hendricks, who was forced to leave in the fourth inning after taking a line drive off of his right forearm.

Wood closed the fourth inning with a six-pitch strikeout to Conor Gillaspie, then did some damage of his own against Giants’ right-handed reliever George Kontos.

In case you were wondering, that was a first-pitch cutter that left the yard at approximately 101 m.p.h., according to Statcast. It was also Wood’s first postseason home run, and the tenth he’s hit in the majors so far.

Per Twitter reports from MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat, among others, Wood was listed with Kerry Wood and Rick Sutcliffe as the only Cubs’ hurlers to homer in the playoffs, and the first to do so since 2003. Even more impressive: Travis Wood is just the second relief pitcher to hit one out in the postseason, preceded by 1924 New York Giants’ right-hander Rosy Ryan (per ESPN’s Jayson Stark).

Wood wasn’t the only Cubs pitcher to knock in a few runs, as Hendricks beat him to it with a 2-RBI base hit in the second inning.