Kyle Hendricks continued his domination of the St. Louis Cardinals by throwing 7 1/3 shutout innings to lead the visiting Chicago Cubs to a 3-0 victory Friday.
Hendricks (3-6) entered the game with a 12-3 record with 2.82 ERA in 24 career outings against the Cardinals. This time he held them to five hits and a walk as the Cubs won for just the fourth time since June 4.
Reliever Chris Martin got Hendricks out of an eighth-inning jam by stranding two runners in scoring position. David Robertson closed out the ninth inning to earn his ninth save.
Nico Hoerner hit a two-run homer to produce all the offense the Cubs needed.
Losing pitcher Andre Pallante (2-3) allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks in six innings as the Cardinals lost for the sixth time in their last nine games.
The Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Hoerner followed Patrick Wisdom’s single with his two-run homer.
Chicago threatened again in the third inning when Christopher Morel hit a one-out single and Willson Contreras walked. But Ian Happ grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Hoerner and Yan Gomes hit one-out singles in the fourth inning, then Pallante dodged trouble by retiring David Bote and Jason Heyward on fly balls.
The Cubs expanded their lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning. Morel walked with one out, Contreras hit a single and Happ lined an RBI double.
Wisdom grounded into a fielder’s choice, with shortstop Tommy Edman catching Contreras trying to score. After Hoerner walked to load the bases, Gomes hit an inning-ending grounder.
The Cardinals got the potential tying run to the plate in the eighth inning. Dylan Carlson hit a leadoff single and moved to third on Harrison Bader’s double.
Hendricks struck out pinch-hitter Lars Nootbaar, then Martin came on in relief and retired Edman on a comeback grounder and Nolan Gorman on a lineout.
–Field Level Media
