Hendricks turns in another gem for Chicago Cubs
It wasn't a carbon copy of Jon Lester's start the previous night, but Kyle Hendricks let it go a little longer Wednesday night and was pretty good in his own right.
Hendricks tossed a season-high 7 innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 at chilly and windy Wrigley Field.
Helping out were a pair of home runs by first baseman Anthony Rizzo as the Cubs improved to 24-21.
Hendricks, a finalist for the Cy Young Award last year, has started to find his groove. Over his last 6 starts, including Wednesday, he has a 1.96 ERA after he posted a 6.19 ERA over his first 3 starts of the season. For the season, Hendricks is 4-2 with a 3.25 ERA.
In Tuesday's 4-1 victory over the Giants, Lester tossed the Cubs' first complete game of the season, giving up 4 hits and walking no one. Hendricks allowed 5 hits while walking nobody and striking out five.
Manager Joe Maddon likes it when his younger pitchers work deeply in games. Last year Hendricks tossed a complete game on May 28 and came back in his next start to work 8 innings.
"Young pitchers, to me, when they are able to complete a game, it definitely does something to them internally, psychologically speaking, confidence wise: 'I know I can do it now. I know what it feels like,' " Maddon said. "And when you go out there, here comes the sixth inning, 'Shoot, I got 3 more innings in me, man. I can do this.'"
Hendricks has been doing it and doing it well of late, with third straight quality start.
"Yeah, that was probably the strongest I've felt in a game," he said. "The game before this was my previous high, my previous time I felt stronger. But today, definitely the best."
Hendricks gave up single runs in both the second and third innings. He allowed a leadoff homer to Denard Span in the third but retired the next 10.
"After that homer, the aggressiveness picked up a little bit," he said. "Didn't have so many deep counts and that allowed me to keep my pitch count down. That's kind of what I've been looking for."
Rizzo homered leading off the bottom of the second and with two outs in the fourth against lefty Matt Moore.
"It felt good," said Rizzo, who has 11 homers for the season. He enjoyed the 14th multihomer game of his career. "I put some good swings on the ball, got a nice 'W.' Yeah, it feels good."
The Cubs scored a run in the fifth, another in the seventh and 1 in the eighth. The Giants came close with 2 in the ninth off Cubs closer Wade Davis, who is a perfect 10-for-10 in save opportunities this season. In his first action in a week, Davis allowed a 2-run homer to Mac Williamson. Before Wednesday, he had not allowed a homer in 64⅓ innings, since Sept. 24, 2015.