Left-hander Jordan Wicks wanted to pick up his truck and drive it to meet the Cubs’ Triple-A Iowa team in Toledo, Ohio. While he was in town, he decided he could get some extra work done.
‘‘I figured, while I was here, what better place to get a bullpen [session] in?’’ he said.
Wicks (strained right oblique) did just that, throwing around 25 pitches. Out since June 15, Wicks’ goal is to return before the regular season ends.
He has had an injury-plagued season that has limited him to make six starts plus an appearance out of the bullpen. Before the oblique issue, he was on the 15-day injured list in April with a strained left forearm. He returned June 7 but went back on the IL a week later.
‘‘I really wanted to be out there,’’ Wicks said. ‘‘But for me it was about just doing what I can each and every day to get back to where I eventually want to be.’’
Wicks said he thinks the injuries are ‘‘completely separate.’’
‘‘It was just one of those things where the timing of them . . . you could have had those two separate ones at the opposite ends of the season,’’ Wicks said. ‘‘They just happened to be back-to-back. It’s tough, but it’s part of it.’’
Wicks is scheduled to start for Iowa on Tuesday in Toledo. Manager Craig Counsell said he would need at least two more starts before the Cubs consider bringing him back.
‘‘He needs to pitch,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘He’s admittedly a little rusty. He needs to get back on the mound, get into the routine — bullpens, pitching — and then we’ll see where we’re at.’’
On and off
Reliever Ethan Roberts pitched in a game Sunday for the first time since July 30. One reason he has been used so sparingly is the schedule, which features the Cubs’ fourth day off of the month Monday. They’re also off Aug. 29.
‘‘We’ve played a playoff schedule for the last two weeks,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘In the playoffs, you don’t use eight relievers; you use six, probably.
‘‘We played two games against [the White Sox], had a day off before [and] a day off after, play three games, a day off,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘It’s the nature of it.’’
Along with the schedule, Counsell said the Cubs playing a lot of close games has contributed to it, too.
Ready for whatever
With the Cubs hoping to rest reliever Hector Neris on Saturday, Jorge Lopez finished their 3-2 victory. That plays into the Cubs’ message that anyone should be ready to get the last three outs, if needed.
‘‘Different days call for different circumstances,’’ Counsell said.
Neris pitched a scoreless ninth Sunday.
Injury scares
Third baseman Isaac Paredes was a late scratch because of soreness in his right shoulder and was replaced by Patrick Wisdom. Counsell said Paredes’ shoulder started bothering him during his daily pregame work, and the Cubs wanted to give him a day off from throwing.
Paredes was healthy enough to pinch-hit in the eighth. When he did, he one-hopped a foul ball of Seiya Suzuki, who was on deck. Suzuki hobbled around for a few seconds but stayed in the game.
This one was especially bad as the Cubs — still trying to sweep a series of at least three games at Wrigley Field for the first time since April — made Jays starter Bowden Francis look like Roy Halladay.
“I was 23 when I debuted there,” Pearson said. “I was just a young guy. [I’ve] matured, and now I’m coming over here [to the Cubs] with a little more experience.”