Hendricks struggles in Chicago Cubs' loss to Phillies

The Chicago Cubs and pitcher Kyle Hendricks found little to like about Tuesday night's 6-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field.

"It was a little bit tortuous at times," said manager Joe Maddon, whose team fell to 33-24. "Obviously Kyle was not on top of his game, missing the plate, the home run early. But we still had plenty of time to get back into it. We worked some good at-bats again. We got guys out there. We just could not get the hit to get back into the game."

Hendricks allowed 5 hits and 5 runs in 5 innings. After Hendricks worked a quick 1-2-3 first inning, he gave up a 2-run homer to Nick Williams in the second. The Phillies scored 3 runs in the third as Hendricks gave up 3 hits and walked two.

The Cubs did little with Phillies starter Zach Eflin, who worked 7⅔ innings. The Cubs got on the board in the eighth. Kris Bryant singled with two outs and scored on Anthony Rizzo's double to right-center.

"Just inconsistent," said Hendricks, who fell to 4-5. "I wasn't repeating my mechanics. So I've just got to get back to work this week, just really dial everything in. It starts with fastball command. It wasn't great."

Mallee take his hacks:

Former Cubs hitting coach John Mallee now has the same job with the Phillies. He was fired last fall in a coaching purge after Joe Maddon said the coaching staff would be welcome back.

"Obviously you all know how it all went down," Mallee said. "I'm not upset with anybody. Theo's (team president Epstein's) job is to do what's best for the brand. He and I got along great. He felt they needed to take the offense to another level, and somebody else (Chili Davis) was better equipped to do that than me.

"Do I agree with it? No. Do I accept it? Absolutely. I can't be upset with him because that's just his opinion."

Asked about Maddon, Mallee was less expansive and less effusive.

"Yeah, Joe, Joe's cool with me," he said. "I like him. Joe, you know, yeah, he's good. Joe's good."

Maddon has taken his shots at the emphasis on launch angle, something Mallee espoused with the Cubs.

"If you're trying not to hit line drives, you're in the wrong business," Mallee said. "You're talking about launch angles. We're trying to hit a low line drive to the middle of the field. That's a launch angle.

"It's not a negative launch angle. It's a positive launch angle. We're not talking about hitting flyballs. Flyballs are the result of having a good swing and just undercutting the center of the ball by a little bit more.

"We're trying to hit the ball hard through the middle of the field. That allows you to use the whole field. So we weren't sitting here and just trying to hit 35-degree launch angles."

MRI for Russell:

Shortstop Addison Russell went for an MRI on his left middle finger. He sprained the finger Sunday in New York while swinging the bat.

"It was pretty sore the other day in the dugout," said Joe Maddon. "It blew up a little bit. Obviously we got him out really fast."

The draft continues:

The Cubs Tuesday selected eight players in Rounds 3-10 of the amateur draft, including four position players and four pitchers. The draft concludes Wednesday.

With their first three picks of the day, the Cubs selected center fielder Jimmy Herron out of Duke University (third round), right-handed pitcher Ethan Roberts out of Tennessee Tech (fourth round) and second baseman Andy Weber out of the University of Virginia (fifth round).

The Cubs' first-round pick Monday was shortstop Nico Hoerner out of Stanford.