In Monday’s win, Kyle Hendricks set a Chicago Cubs’ franchise record with 38 and counting starts with giving up two or fewer walks during that start.
Kyle Hendricks has taken over that top pitching role for a while now, as he’s had a solid season for the Chicago Cubs this season. Hendricks has a 3.41 ERA in his 9-games this season. In those 9-games, he’s 5-4, pitching 58-innings, and striking out 44-batters.
In Monday’s win, Hendricks looked very good, pitching in 8-innings, and taking the team’s first win since Friday. Everything was working in Hendricks’ favor, including some solid defensive play by his team.
Another cool stat Hendricks now has, which dates back to the 2019 MLB season is having 38 consecutive starts with two or fewer walks. This is officially a Cubs‘ record since at least 1901, which if you’re a Cubs fan, doesn’t seem like a long time, as we waited for 108-years to see a World Series win.
It’s turned into Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish being a solid 1-2 punch for the Cubs, with the rest of the starters struggling this season. If this team is going to make a run for the World Series, the other three starters need to start pulling their weight, espically when it comes to October baseball.
There are 17-games left for the Cubs to get those things in check. The Cubs have to start putting wins together and separate themselves from their divisional rivals.
There’s still a lot of work to be done, as no playoff spot has been clinched. Clinching a playoff spot could come down to the end of the season when they face the White Sox, a team they’ve struggled against this season.
After starting the season off by breaking franchise records for their best start in history, they’ve put together a few bad weeks that derailed their great start. Some of it is from pitching, the rest is from their bats just not bringing in runs.
This next week is important, as they have games against divisional opponents until Tuesday, with the Cubs having Monday of next week off. They have a real good chance of adding to their lead in the division. It’ll come down to pitching throughout the next few games.
The Cubs have found success from Hendricks and Darvish, it’s now time for the rest of the pitching staff to step up down the stretch.