CHICAGO – Throughout his short time in the Minors, Gage Jump was often described as a “fiery competitor” on the mound, which is why it was no surprise that after allowing four runs over five innings in his Major League debut last week, the left-hander was not very pleased while talking about his milestone day.
“It was fun, but I wanted to take today to focus on competing and winning a ballgame,” Jump said after his first start. “That didn’t happen, so I’m frustrated.”
Hitting the road for his second Major League start, Jump had plenty to be fired up about. The 23-year-old southpaw, who ranks as the A’s No. 3/MLB No. 40 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, dazzled across seven innings in Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, allowing just one run on three hits and one walk with five strikeouts to notch his first Major League win.
Jump’s lone run allowed came in the first inning on a groundout by Alex Bregman. Soon after, the rookie locked in, allowing just one hit after the second and retiring his final 14 batters faced.
Jump was provided just enough run support by his offense on the strength of Nick Kurtz’s 11th homer of the year – a booming 382-foot solo blast to left-center – and an RBI single by Zack Gelof in the fourth.