Hendricks brilliant for 26 outs as Cubs snap skid
SAN DIEGO - Kyle Hendricks came within one out of a 3-hit shutout for the Cubs, who beat the listless San Diego Padres 6-0 Monday night to snap a season-high five-game losing streak.
Manager David Ross came out to get Hendricks after he got Jurickson Profar to fly out to left on his 116th pitch. Hendricks struck out rookie Jose Azocar to open the ninth and walked Jake Cronenworth on six pitches before going to a full count against Profar. Scott Effros came on and retired Manny Machado.
Hendricks (2-3) didn't allow a runner to reach scoring position as he continued his mastery of the Padres. He struck out 7 and walked 1 to improve to 8-2 overall against San Diego and 5-1 at Petco Park.
The 32-year-old right-hander from Orange County allowed only three singles, including one to Machado as he extended his on-base streak to 19 games.
The Padres were shut out for the second time in three games. The only inning the Padres have scored in during their last three games was the ninth inning Sunday, when pinch-hitter Jorge Alfaro hit a 3-run walkoff homer in a 3-2 win against the Miami Marlins.
Ian Happ drove in 2 runs for the Cubs, who handed rookie lefty MacKenzie Gore (2-1) his first loss. They took a 1-0 lead two batters in after Willson Contreras singled to right and scored on Suzuki's double to left. Suzuki left the game in the middle of the sixth with a sore right ankle.
Happ hit an RBI single in the fourth. The Cubs added a run on Suzuki's double-play grounder in the fifth and a throwing error on Padres second baseman Jake Cronenworth in the seventh. Happ hit another RBI single in the eighth.
Gore allowed 3 runs and 7 hits in five innings, struck out 6 and walked none.