Hendricks, homers help Cubs to series sweep of Reds
If Kyle Hendricks is finally over the hump, it could be a fun finish for the Cubs on the down side of that hump.
Hendricks, the Cubs' professorial young right-hander, turned in his second straight start of at least 7 innings Sunday in a 9-0 rout of the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field.
The 28-year-old right-hander evened his record at 10-10, and more important, he lowered his ERA from 4.04 to 3.86 by working 7 innings and giving up 2 hits.
It's been a season of fits and starts for Hendricks, but he talked more about the team being over the hump.
"For sure, yeah, I think we're all there," he said. "I think we're all getting there. We've been on a really good run the last week or two. Just been throwing the ball real well as a staff. Bullpen's still been keeping up their end. It's nice to feel that roll one start after another, guys going out there and just performing and making pitches."
Hendricks is really no different from the entire team, which had its own ups and downs in the first half.
If Hendricks is right about everybody being over the hump, it could be a long run through the postseason for the Cubs, who swept the sloppy Reds in four games and who have won five in a row to improve to 76-53 for the season.
"You look at the history of this team," said left fielder Kyle Schwarber, whose seventh-inning homer was his 24th of the season and second in two games. "Second half has kind of been our go point. Obviously we hit the little skid there with the offensive side. We're just going to keep doing our thing. There's no panic on our side at all. We're in a great spot. If we just keep going out there and putting out these team games like we've been putting out there, things are going to trend in the right way."
Like most teams, the Cubs will go as far as their starting pitching will carry them. Jon Lester seems to have righted himself lately. Recently acquired lefty Cole Hamels has been a godsend. And Hendricks is now 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA over his last 11 starts.
"It's large," said manager Joe Maddon. "We were talking about that earlier when he was throwing the ball OK. We've heard this conversation from him in the past. It looks good from the side. The numbers look good, but he's just off a little bit. The difference is, for me, the deception on the changeup is back. The arm speed on the changeup is there. It's not just a take pitch anymore. They're not reading it like they had earlier this season. That's a big part of his success."
Sunday's game was over early, as the Cubs jumped on Reds starter Homer Bailey (1-12, 6.17 ERA) with 3 runs in the first inning. They got an RBI triple from Jason Heyward as Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton fell coming in for the hard liner, and the ball went to the wall. Heyward wound up 4-for-4 with 3 runs scored.
David Bote drove in Heyward with a single. In the third, Bote crushed a 451-foot drive over the bleachers in left field for a 2-run homer, his sixth of the season. Schwarber's 2-run blast to right-center came in the Cubs' 3-run seventh. It was measured at 444 feet and with an exit velocity of 111 mph.
Bote has been a huge part of the Cubs' recent run. The other day, he was asked if this felt like a pennant race. The rookie answered that he had never been in one.
He is now. So what does it feel like to someone who has quickly become a fan favorite?
"Again, we're just coming in today expecting to win, expecting to play well, and that's about it," he said. "Every single day, just come in and try to get a 'W' and go on to the next."