We’re just going to set Seiya Suzuki’s ankle injury aside for a moment, because … WHAT A WIN!
The only (other) bad thing about tonight was the start time. I hope enough Cubs fans stayed up to watch this one, because it was as good as a palate cleanser gets. I honestly don’t even know where to start.
For one, the Cubs offense put up more runs tonight (6) than they did in their last three games combined – and they did more damage against MacKenzie Gore (7 hits, 3ER) than any other team has this season.
Individually, Willson Contreras reached base four times (and flew out to the warning track in his last at-bat), and Ian Happ had a couple hits, including a double. Also, the defense was phenomenal throughout the game (especially Jason Heyward’s diving catch), and Nico Hoerner took matters into his own hands after the BABIP Gods denied him hit after hit.
I even liked what I saw from Seiya Suzuki before he exited with ankle soreness. He seems to be adjusting back to the league’s first big adjustment (which is why I really hope he’s not out for too long).
But there’s only one headline tonight and it belongs to Kyle Hendricks, who came just ONE OUT short of the complete game shutout. David Ross pulled him at 116 pitches (and, to be fair, he was starting to lose it a little with a walk and a deep fly out), but man … selfishly, I wanted to see it. Moments like that have been so few and far between this season. Alas. Probably the right call. And either way, it was an absolutely dominant performance from Hendricks, who needed one as badly as any starter out there. We’ll dive in much more deeply tomorrow.
The losing streak ends at five. What a great win. Goodnight.