CHICAGO — Starting pitching could be the difference in a division such as the National League Central, in which no team really stands out.
And in spite of all their faults, the Chicago Cubs have consistently shown they have a rotation that stacks up with the best, especially if Kyle Hendricks continues to pitch like the Hendricks of old.
Hendricks earned his second straight win Friday in a 10-3 romp over the Baltimore Orioles, leaving with a one-run lead after five innings and watching the offense pour it on against the Orioles bullpen.
In his first start since taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants, Hendricks allowed two runs on five hits in an 88-pitch outing.
“Seeing the results like that definitely builds confidence,” Hendricks said of his no-hit bid. “Before that I’ve been feeling really good, feeling like I’ve been making a lot of pitches. My fastball has been down at the bottom, which is different than the last couple years, and I’ve felt really good off my change-up riding off that heater.
“So I knew I was doing the right things. But obviously when you see the results to back it up, it’s going to help the confidence for sure.”
With their fourth straight win and sixth in seven games, the Cubs pulled within 3 games of the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates, pending the Bucs game Friday night in Milwaukee.
The Cubs have outscored the opposition 38-14 over those four games and are the only team in the National League Central with a positive run differential. The Cubs entered Friday with an NL-best 3.92 ERA from their starters and welcome back Justin Steele on Saturday after the left-hander missed two weeks with a left forearm strain.
The return of Steele and Cody Bellinger has come at a perfect time for the Cubs, who were 7 1/2 back only a week ago after the Angels swept them in Anaheim.
“We see what’s in front of us with our division,” Hendricks said. “Just have to get hot, get on a roll. We feel that sense of urgency and having those two guys is a huge part of our team.”
The Cubs staked Hendricks to a 3-0 lead on solo home runs in the third inning by Miguel Amaya, Dansby Swanson and Christopher Morel. The Orioles scored single runs in the fourth and fifth before a six-run explosion in the sixth off the O’s bullpen socked the game away.
Morel has 11 hits in his last 21 at-bats and eight RBIs in his last four games. Manager David Ross sat him in Anaheim, Calif., and the time off proved beneficial.
“Swanson told me, ‘Hey, you’re trying too much, try to get the game to slow down,’ ” Morel said. “I want to say thank you, Swanson. Today I got a home run and (three hits). Every time I go to the plate I say, ‘Thank you, Swanson.’ ”
Swanson said Cubs hitters have done a good job of “passing the baton” and now are being rewarded for quality at-bats. The Cubs have scored five or more runs in an inning in three consecutive games and have recorded 10 or more hits in four straight.
“The last couple series, I feel like we’ve competed a lot better,” Swanson said. “There’s no such thing as luck in this game. You create your own. I feel like we’ve just gone about it in a much better way the last week or so.”
We don’t know, of course, how long the Cubs can continue hitting at this sizzling pace. But if they can score runs more consistently, it bodes well for their chances of getting back over .500 and being taken seriously. At 32-37, they’re still a sub-.500 team with postseason dreams only because of the lack of competitive teams in the division.
“We’ve had guys in scoring position all year long and not being able to come through with a hit,” Ross said. “Guys are starting to swing the bat really well, trusting their plan, staying true and taking walks.”
One thing we know for certain is we won’t see Hendricks on Twitter lobbying for a contract extension. He doesn’t do Twitter and has never felt the urge to create a distraction by putting management in a bad light for not negotiating a new deal during a season.
Recall that the Cubs quietly attempted to negotiate an extension for Hendricks after the 2017 season, but things stalled twice before they finally reached agreement on a four-year, $55 million deal at the end of spring training in 2019.
“This is a life decision, not just a money decision,” Hendricks said after the extension was announced.
Players often say things to ingratiate themselves with a fan base before leaving town for a few million more. All the stars from 2016 who didn’t re-sign with the Cubs insisted they loved Chicago and wanted to stay. Only one made it happen. Hendricks could’ve made more as a free agent but opted to stay in a place he loved for less than his open-market value.
The Cubs hold a $16.5 million option on Hendricks for 2024, with a $1.5 million buyout. After a capsular tear in his right shoulder sidelined him from July 6, 2022, until April 27 — the start of his rehab stint at Triple-A Iowa — there was no need for either side to discuss his future. Everyone focused instead on his health.
Now that Hendricks has proved he’s healthy and seemingly back to his 2020 form, team President Jed Hoyer should find a way to ensure the last man standing from the 2016 World Series champions wears a Cubs jersey the rest of his career.
No need to negotiate via Twitter.
Just get it done.
