Zobrist powers Chicago Cubs past Nationals 5-2
Big series? In May? Sure, go ahead and enjoy it.
Fresh off their three-game sweep of the Pirates in Pittsburgh, the Chicago Cubs returned to Wrigley Field Thursday night to take on the Washington Nationals, the first-place team in the National League East.
The Cubs are way out in front in the NL Central, and this week is providing them their sternest test of the young season.
Ben Zobrist put the Cubs ahead 2-0 with a single in the fourth, and he added a 2-run homer in the eighth to help the Cubs to a 5-2 victory. Kyle Hendricks pitched 6 scoreless innings of 2-hit ball for the Cubs before giving way to the bullpen. The Nationals got their runs on a 2-run homer by Jayson Werth in the ninth. The Cubs improved to 15 games over .500 at 21-6.
"This is a really good team, and we play good baseball," said Zobrist, who hit his first career homer at Wrigley. "Tonight was another good example of that. We're focused on winning tomorrow now. It's over. We're going to celebrate for a half-hour, and that half-hour is about up."
The Cubs have a staggering run differential of plus-96. The Nats are no slouches either, with a record of 19-9. In addition to fans enjoying this series, Zobrist said it's a good measuring stick.
"Every day, we're measuring ourselves," he said. "We're not taking teams for granted that have a tougher record. The Braves beat us (one game of two) last weekend. The Nationals are a great team. They're going to continue to be good the rest of the season. We played good ball tonight."
Cubs manager Joe Maddon also said it's OK for fans to get excited about a series in May.
"If you're a major-league baseball fan, I want to believe you're going to be looking in our direction the next four days," he said. "It's good stuff. But from our perspective, the way you get to the playoffs and win a World Series is by taking it one moment at a time."
The Cubs got going in the fourth against Nationals starting pitcher Joe Ross. Tommy La Stella led off with a single. Kris Bryant then hit one over the head of center fielder Michael Taylor. The ball stuck in the vines for a ground-rule double, forcing La Stella to stop at third.
The Nats walked Anthony Rizzo intentionally before Zobrist singled to right.
Maddon went with relievers Clayton Richard and Justin Grimm in a 1-2-3 seventh. Pedro Strop got himself into trouble with a hit batter and a walk in the eighth, but quickly worked out of it with a strikeout and a double-play ball.
Hendricks (2-2) hadn't pitched since April 26, but he said he felt sharp.
"It felt good, honestly," he said. "It didn't really feel like I missed anything. I threw a lot in between (starts). I think that helped, keeping up with the reps, trying to do a little more., almost, in between to keep sharp. But I felt good, really good."
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