Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks will make his first start in a month when Chicago concludes a three-game home series on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants.
Hendricks, 34, hasn’t started since giving up eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits in 4 2/3 innings of a 9-3 home loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 17.
Hendricks got off to a rough start as his ERA rose to 12.71 in mid-April but he’s delivered three straight scoreless relief outings in June.
“In a lot of ways, Kyle continues to impress you even though he’s had a tough go of it so far,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters before Sunday’s home game against the St. Louis Cardinals. “He’s worried about the things he can control.”
The Cubs are also battling injuries to starting pitchers as Jordan Wicks (oblique strain) and Ben Brown (neck) went down this week. In relief of Wicks against St. Louis on Friday, Hendricks tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up just two hits.
“Kyle pitched wonderfully,” Counsell said after Friday’s game. “Gave us a chance to win.”
Hendricks is in his 11th major league season, all with the Cubs, after the Rangers selected him in the eighth round of the 2011 draft and traded him to the Cubs the following year. He is 93-73 with a 3.62 ERA in 259 games (253 starts).
In 2016, the year the Cubs won the World Series and ended their 108-year drought, Hendricks led the majors with a 2.13 ERA and went 16-8 in 30 starts.
–Field Level Media
