There is no doubt that it has been a up and down season for Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks, but Wednesday afternoon showed the excellence he still has in a complete outing against the San Francisco Giants. After the Cubs' 6-5 win, Hendricks spoke to about his performance and his future with the team as it was his first start since May 17, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
“I still have a long way to go,” Hendricks said. “That's just one today. I've got to keep stacking them together, whatever I'm asked to do or whenever I'm out there.”
“Honestly, I tried to keep it so simple,” Hendricks continued via ESPN.com. “It maybe was like a dream in a way, but I truly tried to lock in on process. I was just so far from who I was as a pitcher that I really had to commit to my process, commit to getting better every day, almost resetting and restarting a career.”
Hendricks would get the win which would be his first of the year as he threw 75 pitches while striking out eight batters, only allowing two hits, one walk, and one earned run. It was also the furthest he pitched into a game all season with 5.2 innings. What also helped the 34-year-old pitcher was the calls made by catcher Miguel Amaya who he said has been “unpredictable” in the best way.
“If it's unpredictable to me, I think that's a good thing right now,” Hendricks said. “It's being unpredictable for the hitters too, so that's kind of where we're at. [Amaya’s] been so locked in. I’m trusting him.”
Cubs manager Craig Counsell on Hendricks adapting to team
If there is one trait that Hendricks has that helps the Cubs is his ability to adapt to the different ways to success as was evident in trusting Amaya, a young catcher in his first full season. The same sentiments were echoed by Chicago manager Craig Counsell who said Hendricks is “open” and “willing to make those adjustments.”
“The great thing about Kyle is that he never stops trying to figure it out,” Counsell said. “With his accomplishments and his career, it's easy to say, ‘This is the way I've done it.’ And I think Kyle's real gift is that he's just open and he's willing to make those adjustments.”
Hendricks had more been involved in the bullpen since May 17 when he made his last start as he had an earned run average (ERA) of just more than 10 in the rotation. With injuries to the aforementioned rotation, Hendricks was inserted back in as he talked about how being with the relievers was entirely beneficial to him.
“Those guys taught me so much down there,” Hendricks said. “I feel like I got better just sitting down there and hanging out and talking to them.”
Hendricks on the injuries to the Cubs' rotation
His time with the bullpen was successful as according to MLB.com, he “had not allowed a run in 8 2/3 innings between a trio of relief efforts in June.” Besides being exceptional in that role, the Cubs' rotation was dealt some blows as mentioned before to the likes of Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown, but even with a great outing from Hendricks, he still focused on the players that were hurt.
“I wouldn't have been in this spot,” Hendricks said. “We had guys throwing way better than me. Guys that were doing their thing. It's super unfortunate for them to go down, but I know they're going to be back soon. They're going to be a huge part of this team. I'm super excited about that.”
Cubs teammate applauds Hendricks for his stellar outing
The California native would get a standing ovation from the crowd at Wrigley Field after a stellar outing that had Cubs fans reliving the memories of the past 11 seasons since Hendrick has been in those specific pinstripes. His teammate in Dansby Swanson would call the reaction a “well-deserved” one.
“It was well-deserved,” Swanson said via MLB.com. “Sometimes when you get beat down a little bit, the best thing to do is continue to get back up and push forward. And he's done that and shown not only to himself but all of us in here just the ability to persevere.”
“He's been throwing the ball well these last couple outings,” Swanson continued. “He showed up to do his job each and every day. I think there's so many valuable life lessons in that.”
At any rate, the Cubs are still looking to get some more wins as they are 36-39 on the season which puts them second to last in the NL Central. But, other teams around them like the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals are just separated by a game as it should be an exciting division to follow as Chicago's next game is against the New York Mets Friday afternoon.
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