Cubs pitcher Hendricks gets back on track after low point
Kyle Hendricks was coming off the worst two-game stretch of his major league career, allowing a combined 14 earned runs in the two starts.
So it was a relief to get through 6 innings Friday against a strong opponent and allow just 1 run.
"Needed it mentally, to see myself be able to do that," Hendricks said. "With the few (starts) I have left, try to keep that rolling."
His pitch count got a little high, ending a 104, but he gave up just 4 hits. The Giants tied the score at 1-1 against Hendricks in the top of the sixth on a leadoff double by Brandon Belt and bloop single from LaMonte Wade Jr. Wade was thrown out at second base by left fielder Ian Happ.
Hendricks (14-6) did not add to his win total, though. After he left a tie game, the Giants drilled a pair of 2-run homers in the seventh and went on to win 6-1. Evan Longoria hit one off Trevor Megill, then Belt sent an opposite field liner into the basket off Michael Rucker.
"It was a lot better today, just execution," Hendricks said. "The last few starts, I've just been missing so many pitches over the plate, did a really good job today of getting back down in the zone. Established my fastball down and then everything worked off of that."
Added Cubs substitute manager Andy Green, "You could tell from the very beginning, the fastball in to lefties, he had real movement back over the plate today. Sometimes it hasn't been moving the way he wanted it to."
San Francisco used this as a bullpen day and sent eight different pitchers to the mound. The Cubs managed just 2 hits, both by Frank Schwindel, including a home run in the fourth inning.
Nance returns to pen:
Before the game, the Cubs placed left-handed reliever Adam Morgan on the bereavement list and promoted right-hander Tommy Nance from Iowa. Nance appeared in 19 games for the Cubs earlier this season, his first big-league action as a 30-year-old rookie. He threw a perfect ninth inning Friday.
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