Cubs' Hendricks already working on fixing mechanics

Right-hander Kyle Hendricks wasted no time trying to fix the mechanical problems that came to a head in Friday's short outing against the White Sox.

Hours before Saturday night's game at U.S. Cellular Field, Hendricks was in the outfield with pitching coach Chris Bosio working on his pitching motion, stopping at various points in his delivery. The Cubs beat the White Sox 6-5 Friday but Hendricks lasted just 3⅓ innings, giving up 8 hits and 5 runs.

Not only did Hendricks not waste time, he went back a ways in time.

"They say sometimes if you have problems with your mental game, it shows up in your mechanics," he said. "And 95 percent of the time, that's pretty much how it works. You're bad mentally, so it's causing your mechanics to be off. That's what I thought it was. For most of the year, I've been working on mental stuff, even still working on slight mechanical things, but nothing has really clicked.

"So after the game yesterday, I went all the way back. I was watching Double-A video. I got Bos in and we started looking at it together. I was in such a bad position yesterday. It was so noticeable. Where I'm at is my back side is not tall enough. So I'm collapsing. My shoulders are off, and I'm getting my arm stuck behind me."

He added that there are some drills he can do to help get him straightened out. Manager Joe Maddon didn't seem overly worried.

"A lot of times when major-league players talk about mechanical issues, it's normally something very small," Maddon said. "It's really hard to almost see because they're so good at what they do. He'll get it back. I have a lot of faith in the guy."

Rearranging things:

Jorge Soler was supposed to start in right field Saturday, but he moved to DH after coming up with a tight right calf.

Kyle Schwarber went from DH to left field, with Chris Denorfia moving from left to right. Joe Maddon says he likes Schwarber at DH because the rookie knows what to do in that role.

"I like him to DH because I think he can," Maddon said. "It's a position that needs to be learned. It really does. A lot of guys hate it. They hate it. But he's fine. I watch him in the dugout. He's normal. He's not freaked out. He's not antsy. I don't know exactly what he does, but he does it well."

Numbers game:

The Cubs entered Saturday having won 14 of their previous 15 games. In research done by Elias dating to 1937, it's only the fourth time since then the Cubs had a stretch of 14 wins in 15 tries. The other seasons in which it happened were 1945, 1967 and 2001.