In seemingly a blink, Kyle Hendricks’ start spiraled out of control.
Backed by a 7-0 lead the Chicago Cubs offense built against the Philadelphia Phillies in their bullpen game, Hendricks entered the fourth inning looking to continue throwing up zeros. Instead, Hendricks’ night was over before an awful inning ended. Eight of the nine Phillies he faced reached based, including two walks and two hit batters, both typically uncharacteristic of Hendricks.
But too often those atypical moments have spawned into innings and starts that get away from the veteran right-hander. On Thursday it meant a sizeable cushion quickly evaporating. The Cubs sent 12 batters to the plate in their seven-run third, which the Phillies countered with a seven-run inning in the fourth to knock Hendricks out of the game in the process. By the time the Cubs headed into the visitors clubhouse to prepare to fly to Milwaukee for their weekend series against the Brewers, they were on the wrong end of a lopsided 17-8 loss at Citizens Bank Park.
It marked the third time the Cubs blew at least a 6-0 lead, joining the ugliness from June 30 at the Brewers (up 7-0 after the top of the first) and Aug. 27 at the White Sox (led 6-0 after the top of the first). In those three games, the Cubs were subsequently outscored a combined 49-8. An eyesore of a score aside, Hendricks’ struggles are concerning, particularly with how fast he lost command and control of the game.
“Just try to make one good pitch, one good pitch can get you out of it, and I thought I did make a couple there, but they were just on the edges and up so it gives them a chance to hit those balls in the outfield,” Hendricks said. “So I’ve got to get back down in the zone, kind of like it was last start, more sink on my fastball, and everything will play off that.”
It’s not the first time a game has gotten away from him like that this season. He recovered from a bad April to string together a strong 17-start stretch from May through July. But since the beginning of August, Hendricks’ inconsistencies have reemerged. Hendricks and the Cubs are trying to figure out how to get him back on track.
“It looked like I was watching a different pitcher out there tonight,” manager David Ross said. “I didn’t see the guy that I normally know: aggressive, fastballs to both sides. It just looked like he lost the feel, walking guys, hitting a couple guys. We’ve seen a little bit of that from time to time on the backside of the season, that one inning where it kind of derails him a little bit.”
Before Hendricks’ start, Ross noted how not having anything to play for near the end of a season, beyond finishing on a positive note, can be challenging mentally for some players, especially when owning a track record like Hendricks’.
“This is probably the first time for him in a long time where he takes the mound on a consistent basis that he’s not pitching for anything but individual stats or team win, so sometimes that can also be a hurdle that you have to overcome on a daily basis,” Ross said pregame Thursday. “When you’re in a playoff push and a focus in a hunt to make the playoffs or preparing for postseason play, your focus is a little bit different than maybe trying to push himself with a shortened season last year.”
The Cubs don’t have much time left to help Hendricks fix the mechanical issues and mental lapses. Hendricks insisted he still feels good and is healthy while acknowledging it has been a long year overall. Thursday’s bad fourth inning wasn’t a one-off, though. He has had stretches lately where he looks good for a couple of innings and then his command is suddenly gone. Hendricks believes the answer to what plagued him Thursday is simple: throwing a lot of bad pitches that are left over the middle of the plate.
Hendricks has pitched 170⅓ innings after compiling only 81⅓ during the abbreviated 2020 schedule. Ross plans to talk with him Friday. With 15 games remaining, Hendricks made clear pitching through the end of the season is “super important” to him.
“I‘m going to take the ball when it’s given to me every fifth day, I just have to be much better for this team going forward,” Hendricks said. “I’ll have a lot to address in the offseason to get ready for next year.
“But at this point, we’ve got two weeks left, so however many starts I have, it’s build my innings back up, work on making pitches, get the confidence back a little bit, get back to the bottom zone and take that into the offseason.”