Cubs' Maddon not worried about his starting pitchers
The Chicago Cubs' starting rotation has been a bit all over the place lately.
Jake Arrieta is solid as the ace. Jon Lester had a messy outing the other night, but the Cubs are willing to throw that one out.
Jason Hammel is trying to get back on track, and Dan Haren is doing what fifth starters usually do.
Just as key is No. 4 starter Kyle Hendricks. He went into the shop to get some mechanics fixed after last weekend's rough go against the White Sox.
He came back better Friday in the Cubs' come-from-behind 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field.
Hendricks worked 5 innings, giving up 7 hits and 3 runs. He didn't get the win, and no doubt there are still some things to work on.
In the bigger picture, manager Joe Maddon expressed his belief that his starting five are in a good place at this crucial part of the season.
“Oh, yeah,” said Maddon, whose team has won two in a row to improve to 69-51. “Like I said, they're healthy, and they're not overworked. They were on a nice roll, hit a little bit of a speed bump. But we're going to get back on a good roll because they're healthy and they're not overextended. That's what I look at.”
Hendricks is an interesting case, and to his credit, he got right after it last weekend at U.S. Cellular Field, looking at video and working in the outfield with pitching coach Chris Bosio.
He got off to a rough start Friday, giving up singles to the first two batters he faced followed by an RBI fielder's choice, a play in which all runners were safe. However, Hendricks was able to hold the damage to just the 1 run. He gave up 2 more in the fourth, when the Braves went up 3-1.
“I felt big improvement, honestly,” said Hendricks, who has a 4.03 ERA. “That's why it's a little frustrating, giving up 3 runs there. In the end, I'm happy. I did feel 100 times better. My arm felt more free, more on line. I made a lot more good pitches. I wasn't really expecting it to be 100 percent first start after we've been working on it, but hopefully it can turn around pretty quick now.”
One of the reasons the Cubs traded for catcher Miguel Montero was for have him get after the pitchers. He did that Friday.
“Early in the game, he was probably thinking about mechanics and making pitches,” Montero said of Hendricks. “Too much. It's too much. I told him to stop thinking about it, stop nitpicking and throw the ball. Throw the ball with conviction. He did a better job after that. He made better-quality pitches after that.”
The Cubs' offense has been a-OK. Even in a pair of losses to the Tigers this past week, the Cubs scored 8 runs in each game. They recorded their 27th come-from-behind victory Friday, with Kris Bryant and Montero hitting back-to-back RBI doubles in the sixth inning to put them ahead.
“It's a good feeling,” Bryant said. “We've done it a lot this year. I think that makes a great team, the ability to come from behind. We did that today.”