Gore flirts with no-hitter as Nationals top Cubs |
CHICAGO - It's hard to win a baseball game when you only have two hits, and that is what the Chicago Cubs (79-76) were up against at Wrigley Field on Saturday. Looking to make it six for six against the Washington Nationals (69-86), the Cubs were tasked with taking on MacKenzie Gore, who was about to pitch the best game of his career.
Gore was about as dominant as you can be, as he walked three and struck out nine across seven innings, all while allowing just one hit. That hit turned out to be a solo homer, but with the Nationals scoring four times in the sixth inning, his outing was more than enough to give the Nationals their first win of the season against the Cubs 5-1. Gore has been one of the bright spots in the Nationals rotation this season, and it is outings like this that show why. He went up against Professor Kyle Hendricks, who may have made his final Wrigley Field start of his career as a member of the Cubs. Hendricks has had a terrible season this year, but lately, things have gotten better. Despite striking out only two across 5 1/3 innings, Hendricks was very good, as he allowed just one run through five innings before coming undone in the sixth. Kyle Hendricks becomes the 6th @Cubs SP to reach 1,250 strikeouts! pic.twitter.com/N8mZVvw9oR The lone run Hendricks allowed through the first five innings came in the second, and it game after Juan Yepez and Jose Tena started things off with singles. Joey Gallo would work a walk later in the inning to load the bases with one out, only to have Ilderamo Vargas push home the game's first run with a sacrifice fly. Things could've been far worse than that, but credit Hendricks for pitching out of trouble whenever it presented itself. On the other hand, Gore had no issues in the early going as he allowed just one runner through four innings, with a second-inning hit by a pitch as the only base runner. Then came the fifth when the Cubs put together their lone scoring opportunity off him, which came after the Nationals wasted a scoring chance in the top of the inning. Patrick Wisdom began that scoring chance with a leadoff walk, only to have Michael Busch work a walk himself to put two on with no outs. That was when the momentum shifted, as Nico Hoerner grounded into a costly double play before Gore struck out Miguel Amaya to end the threat. One of the big issues for Hendricks this season has been getting through six innings, as that is the inning when he seems to run out of gas. You started to see that again here as Luis Garcia Jr. opened the sixth with a leadoff single before Yepez and Tena loaded the bases with no outs. Hendricks managed to get Keibert Ruiz out a few pitches later, but with Ruiz lifting the ball to center, the Nationals took a 2-0 lead, and that was the end of the road for Hendricks. Keegan Thompson took over from there, and one batter into his outing, the Cubs found themselves down 5-0 as Gallo connected for his second homer of the series. Those were the final runs of the game for Washington, as Hayden Wesneski returned from the IL to strike out four in two dominating innings before Trey Wingenter finished off the night. However, the real story of the game was Gore, as the attention shifted his way yet again. Despite Ian Happ working a two-out walk in the sixth, Gore still hadn't allowed a hit as the no-hitter was still intact. It remained intact until the seventh inning when Wisdom not only broke up the no-hitter with one out in the seventh but put an end to the shutout as the hit ended up being a solo shot at making this a 5-1 game. Patrick Wisdom hit this ball 421 feet. pic.twitter.com/RDzQZ4rbEr It was the only run the Cubs would score, but it was a massive hit for Wisdom when you look at how much he has been struggling this season. Washington did have a chance to add on in the top half of the ninth, as a pair of singles from Gallo and Vargas set the offense up before a walk loaded the bases with one out. Wingenter managed to escape the jam without any damage, but with the Cubs' offense failing to do anything, Washington picked up their first win of the season against the Cubs 5-1. Wisdom had one of the two hits and provided the lone run, with Dansby Swanson adding the second hit in the ninth. The Cubs will look to finish this homestand on a winning note as Shota Imanaga takes the ball against Jake Irvin. "Just thankful for all the opportunities I've gotten that I didn't necessarily deserve, especially in the beginning."
Kyle Hendricks on Cubs Postgame Live. pic.twitter.com/c50E6XseN6
