Castillo's single rescues Cubs for 4-3 win
As good as Kyle Hendricks has been for the Cubs, he still has much to learn.
Such as Matt Holliday can hurt you.
Hendricks was sailing along nicely Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. His Cubs teammates had staked him to a 3-0 lead after five innings, and he was being his usual efficient self.
But the Cardinals tied it quickly in the top of the sixth, with the big hit being Holliday's 2-run homer into the left-center field bleachers. That tied the game at 3 and ended Hendricks' night.
It all ended well for the Cubs, though, as Welington Castillo's long single to right-center scored Anthony Rizzo with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th, and the Cubs escaped with a 4-3 victory.
"Thank God for Welly for winning that ballgame because I was not going to be able to live with that one," said Hendricks, who was still lamenting the Holliday homer. "I was trying to pitch around him. If I walk him, I walk him. That's my mindset. We talked about it in the meeting. I throw a sinker. It starts on the black and cuts. It didn't sink. I went back and watched it on the video and still can't believe it ended up where it did."
Castillo hit a 2-run homer in the second to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. He was only to happy to hit the game-winning single, too.
"Really good," he said. "It was amazing to get the homer and the walk-off base hit. I can't ask for more than that. I'm really happy for it."
Even with speed bumps like the one Hendricks hit Tuesday, the Cubs like what they have in the 25-year-old righty, who came to the major leagues after the July 4 trade that sent pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to Oakland.
Hendricks got no decision Tuesday night. His record held at 7-2, and his ERA inched up from 2.28 to 2.46. The Cubs obtained him two years ago from the Texas organization in the Ryan Dempster trade. Since coming up, he has impressed the Cubs with his poise and quiet confidence.
Manager Rick Renteria recalled Hendricks' first start, July 10 in Cincinnati.
"I still remember going out and talking to him and he was getting ready to face Jay Bruce," Renteria said. "He said, 'I got this guy.' I said, 'All right. Go ahead. Go get him.' And he did exactly what he said he was going to do. Probably not the most normal thing you would do with a first-time start with a big-league young pitcher.
"For all intents and purposes, everything that we've heard of him has been very consistence: his poise, his understanding of what he wants to do, his ability to execute. He's continued to show that. He's done a lot for himself."
Hendricks also works quickly on the mound.
"I think he's a guy that has a really good idea of what he wants to do," Renteria said. "It serves any pitcher well to have a decent tempo. Your infield is always on its toes. There are a lot of things that come from a guy being ready to take the ball and get back on the rubber and know what he's going to do"