NEWSLETTER
Normally, when the Cubs have a bad loss or bad series loss (and this was both) before a scheduled day off, I dread the extra time between games. Typically, it just means more time to stew in the misery and get anxious about the next series. Not this time. This time, I welcome it.
The Cubs don’t play tomorrow, and their next series (against the Mariners) doesn’t start until 8:40pm CT on Friday night. That’s a good long break, and exactly what they need.
And I mean that both literally (because the bullpen is cashed and could use a breather) and, like, spiritually, or whatever you want to call it. This team needs a reset after Monday’s historically bad loss and tonight’s blowout. And they also need to think long and hard about what to do with Kyle Hendricks.
For the second consecutive game, Kyle Hendricks actually looked all right early on, with his first couple runs scoring on four straight nothingburger balls in play that found grass consecutively. But that simply was not the story of his night. Quickly, the weak contact became very loud contact, as he surrendered a double, a triple, two homers, and five other singles.
We’ll dig into his start – and what comes next for Hendricks tomorrow. But the short version for now is that he just couldn’t seem to command his pitches the way he used to and he evidently didn’t have his curveball (threw just 2 tonight). It was ugly.
There were some nice things, like Ian Happ extending his on-base streak, Michael Busch taking Dylan Cease deep (while reaching twice more via walks), and Christopher Morel having a couple of nice plays at third, but you can do with that what you will. It was a bad loss, their second of the series, and a bad time overall. I’m looking forward to getting out of San Diego and turning the page on Friday.
