ST. LOUIS — Reports of Kyle Hendricks’ demise have proved to be premature. In the Chicago Cubs’ 5-1 win Friday night over the St. Louis Cardinals, the veteran righty dominated for seven shutout innings, allowing just five hits, all singles, while striking out three and walking one.
“Coming off his last start, just to go seven innings tonight, we couldn’t have asked for any more,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He pitched wonderfully. I thought he was just great, really similar to the San Francisco start. Did a great job and set us up to have some success tomorrow as well.”
Hendricks’ impressive outing extended a run of brilliance from Cubs pitching over this road trip. He and relievers Luke Little (who left after four pitches with left-shoulder discomfort) and Mark Leiter Jr. pushed the staff’s scoreless streak to 32 innings before it ended when rookie Hunter Bigge allowed a run in the ninth. Until that frame, Cubs pitchers hadn’t allowed a Cardinals batter to reach second base, and in general, the St. Louis offense had put up little threat to that point.
It was the Cubs’ fifth win in a row and their fourth to start a critical seven-game trip before the All-Star break. Looking like they’d limp into the unofficial midway point as likely sellers at the trade deadline, the Cubs have finally found that elusive hot streak as all aspects of their team are clicking at once.
The offense had productive at-bats early as Nico Hoerner drove in two of their first three runs just by putting the ball in play. The other three runs were all knocked in with two-out hits, something the Cubs had struggled with mightily before this hot stretch of seven wins in eight games.
“We felt like we didn’t get a lot of two-out (RBIs) for months almost. But it’s coming now and we’re getting them. That’s why we’re scoring. It’s a big part of baseball. You’re going to get most of your big hits with two outs because you develop a rally, develop a rally. It is demoralizing (for the opposition), for sure. You’re almost out of an inning and you got two runs on the board.”
From April 27 to July 3, the Cubs drove in just 51 runs with two outs and runners in scoring position, a span of 61 games. In their last eight games, they’ve driven in 14 runs in those situations.
But the real story is Hendricks and the Cubs starting pitching. That unit has been strong all season, with Hendricks the only weak spot over the season’s first three-plus months. With a 3.56 ERA, the starting rotation is sixth in baseball and third in the National League.
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“When you have good starting pitching, you feel like have a chance to win every night,” Counsell said. “You feel like you’re in every game. That’s what our starters have done all year. Performances like we’ve gotten on this road trip, they’re winning games kind of on their own. That does so much for your team and gives you so much confidence when you turn the page to the next that you got somebody that’s going to put up zeroes.”
Hendricks has largely been wobbly this season, but the front of the rotation has stood out this season. Shota Imanaga is the team’s lone All-Star and has posted a 2.97 ERA over his first 97 innings in the league. Justin Steele (2.71 ERA, 86 1/3 innings pitched) missed a month after getting hurt on Opening Day but has been so dominant, especially lately, that earning Cy Young votes again this season doesn’t seem like a stretch. Jameson Taillon has firmly put last season’s first-half struggles behind him, posting a 2.99 ERA over 87 1/3 innings so far. He’ll try to close out the Cubs’ first half on a high note when he goes against the Cardinals on Sunday.
“It’s been awesome,” Hendricks said. “It’s just helped me watching those guys, pushing me. They’ve been competing, dominating, aggressive, just attacking hitters. It’s been so fun to watch. They’ve been setting the tone for us.”
Hendricks started the season looking like his bounce-back 2023 was a distant memory. He headed to the injured list in late April with a back issue as his ERA had ballooned to 12.00 after four starts. Upon his return, he gave the Cubs one solid start before another blow-up outing pushed him to the bullpen, where he remained until injuries led to his return to the rotation.
Hendricks looked strong in a pair of starts against the San Francisco Giants. Then, a seven-run outing against the Milwaukee Brewers and his last outing, kept to two innings as he exited early with a balky back, brought about questions as to whether Hendricks could still help this team. Friday night’s outing was just another example of Hendricks doing what he’s done throughout his career: prove doubters wrong.
“To be honest, you block it all out,” Hendricks said. “You don’t want to be struggling so you don’t want to be hearing those things. But it is what it is. I can’t thank the guys in here enough for how much better they’ve made me, the support they’ve given me and just getting my confidence back. It’s fun to win with your boys.”
Even with all his struggles, Hendricks is still doing what he’s done well when he’s at his best. Among pitchers with at least 60 innings logged, his 27.8 percent hard-contact rate is second best in baseball and his 6.0 percent barrel rate is 17th. He puts the ball on the ground at a strong rate (44.6 percent) and largely limits walks (6.8 percent). With Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown still injured and Javier Assad expected to return Saturday, having Hendricks available for the rotation has helped keep the team afloat.
It was just a week ago that it seemed like the Cubs were thinking toward 2025. But with how mediocre the NL has proved to be, all they needed was one hot week to start shifting the narrative. They’ve done exactly that as they sit just three games under .500 (46-49) and three games out of the final (and second) wild-card spot. And with three more games in St. Louis before the break, they’re hoping that positive momentum doesn’t stop.
(Photo: Jeff Curry / USA Today)
