Ross names Hendricks to be Cubs' Opening Day starter

Pitcher Kyle Hendricks took the news that he will be the Cubs' Opening Day starter in typical Kyle Hendricks fashion.

Which is to say, Hendricks apparently reacted as if he'd been handed a sandwich.

"It may have been a bigger deal for me to tell him than it was for him to hear the news," manager David Ross said.

Ross broke the news first in a meeting with the other starters, then later called Hendricks in to explain the decision in more depth.

"Just a really cool experience for me just to be able say it's happened, obviously," Hendricks said Thursday in a Zoom meeting with the media. "But it was even cooler just to have those other guys in the room with me and just congratulating me for my first one. Especially guys like Jon (Lester) that have been around for so long and somebody I've looked up to for years on this team and learned so much from him about how to do it, how to go about it the right way. ...

"And then for Rossy to call me in by myself just to congratulate me 1-on-1 and tell me that I got it, it did mean something for sure. But at the end of the day, we're just worried about going out and winning ballgames, no matter how we've got to do it."

This will be Hendricks' first Opening Day assignment, but it will be an experience like no other because it's coming in July and it's coming in front of an empty Wrigley Field.

Hendricks said he threw 70 pitches in his last intrasquad scrimmage, and he plans to work up to 85 in his final outing of this most unusual preseason. The goal is to be ready to throw 100 pitches against the Brewers July 24.

And Hendricks likes the idea of being regarded as a pitcher who can throw a lot of innings for his team, something that wasn't always true in the past.

"It means a ton to me. I've thanked (Ross) over and over again," Hendricks said.

Hendricks said he used the time off this summer not only to get stronger but also to work on his curveball.

"Using that curveball not just in an early count but learning how to get guys out with it," he said. "Learning how to use it in middle counts. Moving it around the strike zone. I've been doing a lot of different things with my curveball. I think it's going to open up a lot in my game."

Yu Darvish will follow Hendricks in the rotation, Ross said.

The Cubs hope to see left-hander Jose Quintana pitching again soon after he cut his thumb while washing dishes. Quintana just started to throw again Thursday after getting the stitches out Wednesday.

"I like where our pitching is," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said. "Obviously, Quintana's injury was an early hit to that. But I think we have the depth and I think that keeping guys healthy is working. And frankly having some guys step up and perform potentially at levels they haven't performed at yet in the big leagues is really important to us.

"We have a lot of really good young, power arms that are throwing great in these intrasquad scrimmages, and some of these guys threw well in Arizona before."