Invite back, Cubs baseball! Homers from Ian Happ and Anthony Rizzo did the bit of damage in this one, and Kyle Hendricks did the rest.
I dont wish to be too hyperbolic simply since Im so stired baseball is back, but that may have been the very best Ive ever seen Kyle Hendricks look. Not only was he doing all the things he always succeeds– determine command, clearly tunneling all pitches well, throwing anything in his toolbox in any count– but he was flashing that unbelievably tight, sharp curveball. Include the reality that his fastball was sitting at 89 miles per hour (up there for him) out the gate which was top tier Kyle Hendricks.
For him to do this in his first start of the year after such a jacked up offseason, in particular, is blowing my mind.
I dont want to be too hyperbolic just since Im so stoked baseball is back, however that might have been the best Ive ever seen Kyle Hendricks look. Throw in the truth that his fastball was sitting at 89 miles per hour (up there for him) out the gate and that was top tier Kyle Hendricks.
( Also, of course it was Orlando Arcia who got the only hits off of Hendricks.
( Also, of course it was Orlando Arcia who got the only hits off of Hendricks. 3 of them. I swear, if that guy never ever played the Cubs, he d still be at AA.).
From the very first at bat of the night, when Kris Bryant required 10 pitches to retire, the Cubs truly made Brandon Woodruff work. His stuff is great, but his command was just so-so. Even with the assistance of a couple double play grounders, he was burned up after five innings. Still, he provided up just the two-run shot to Happ, so it wasnt a bad getaway.
Full box score.
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— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) July 25, 2020.
