Hoerner blasts grand slam in series win over Nationals |
CHICAGO - There are some things in life you don't fix if they are not broken, and when it comes to the Chicago Cubs (45-50), Kyle Hendricks is that thing. In a world where velocity is king for pitchers, Hendricks is as old school as they come, as he now possesses the lowest average fastball velocity in all of MLB.
Despite that, Hendricks has turned in a great career and continues to pitch well this season. In what could have been his final start at Wrigley Field as a member of the Cubs, Hendricks was locked in once again as he held the Nationals offense in check for six innings. Hendricks allowed one run on five hits while striking out five in his outing. Although he left with the lead, the lead wasn't as large as you would have liked, as Trevor Williams was equally good. The former Chicago Cub has pitched well this season and turned in one of the best starts of his career earlier against the Cubs. Williams was off to another good start as he allowed two runs in five innings, with only one earned. Had it not been for a rare hiccup from Julian Merryweather in the eighth that saw the Nationals tie things up, Hendricks would have won. Instead, the Cubs had to rally late and scored five times off the Nationals pen in the eighth inning, capped off by the Nico Hoerner grand slam as they take the series with an 8-3 win. “You really have no clue when he is struggling,” Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks said about Hoerner after the game. “He’s such a hard worker and his at-bats don't change. Every at-bat is just a pro at bat. You think you have a chance of him getting a hit every time he's up there. “To come through like that in a huge moment, that's what he does for us. He’s one of the best players on our team and just super clutch. He just seems to get the hit when we need it.” One of the more surprising stories for the Cubs is how reliable Mike Tauchman has been this season, and he continued to deliver on Wednesday. Tauchman had a career game and led things off with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first to give the Cubs an early 1-0 lead. Mike Tauchman - Chicago Cubs (4)
Hoerner and Seiya Suzuki would add singles later in the inning, with Christopher Morel taking a walk to load the bases only to come away without any more damage. Opportunities like that don't usually come that early, and when they do, you need to capitalize. The Cubs inability to do that could've come back to haunt them as a trio of singles from Washington in the second tied things up 1-1. Joey Meneses and Dominic Smith started things off, with Luis Garcia adding the game-tying RBI hit. Despite each team having opportunities to add on the next few innings, neither could add on until the bottom of the fourth when Tauchman came through again. This time it was a leadoff single from Miles Mastrobuoni getting things started before the two-out double from Tauchman made things 2-1. Hendricks manage to get through the next two innings with the lead intact before handing things over to Mark Leiter Jr and the rest of the Cubs pen. On to pitch the seventh, Leiter Jr got off to a great start only to have a few unlucky bounces lead to a pair of baserunners. Merryweather would then enter the game to finish the seventh as the Cubs were still in front 2-1. Looking to provide some late-game insurance runs, Tucker Barnhardt started off the bottom of the seventh with a walk before racing around the bases to score on another Tauchman double. Tauchman was thrown trying to stretch that double into a triple, but it was still Tauchman 3 and Nationals one at this point. Going back to late April, Early May, you would find that Merryweather has been one of the best relievers on this team. Even with that, bad outings will happen, and this was one of those as Smith led the top of the eighth off with a solo shot. Merryweather would then retire the next two hitters before a pair of singles from Smith and Corey Dickerson had the Nationals in business. Looking for one more out to keep Hendricks in line for the win, Garcia came through for his second RBI hit of the night, and just like that, it was a 3-3 game with the momentum back in the hands of Washington. When it comes to baseball, the best way to stop momentum is by stealing it back, and the Cubs did just that in their half of the eighth. With Mason Thompson on the mound, the Cubs loaded the bases three batters into the inning as Suzuki and Mastrobuoni picked up singles sandwiched between the Morel walk. Looking to deliver a massive knock, the birthday boy Yan Gomes came through as he smoked a line drive to center for a sacrifice fly as the Cubs were back in front 4-3. Yan Gomes with the go-ahead sac fly! pic.twitter.com/A3QdizOVlR
Chicago wasn't quite finished as Barnhardt narrowly missed a bases-clearing double before going down on strikes for the second out. That was followed by another Tauchman walk as he reached base four times in the game. Needing just one out to get out of the jam, Dave Martinez went back to his pen and called on another former Cub, Cory Abbott, to face the Cubs RBI leader Hoerner. All Hoerner needed was to pick up another to put the game out of reach, and boy, did he ever pick as Hoerner took Abbott deep for his first career grand slam to extend the Cubs lead to 8-3. Nico Hoerner - Chicago Cubs (6) pic.twitter.com/dVyCROyIII
“Getting the barrel of the bat out front in an even count was really nice for him,” Ross said about Hoerner's grand slam. “Just seeing the ball well, having confidence in himself out there. Not as jumpy tonight as he had been probably two or three nights ago. “I feel like the timing is coming. Everybody feels like they’re starting to feel pretty good.” That would be all they would need as Daniel Palencia came on to pitch a scoreless ninth and lifted the Cubs to the series win. Tauchman was one of several players to record multiple hits, as he led the way with three hits and three RBIs. “He’s done a really nice job for us. He’s a baseball guy and thinks the right things," Ross said about Tauchman. "He’s fun for that group and he’s been swinging the bat really well, getting on base, doing a nice job at the top.” Hoerner, Bellinger, Suzuki, and Mastrobuoni all added multi-hit efforts, with Hoerner leading the way with four RBIs. The Cubs return to Wrigley Field on Thursday, when they will entertain their hated rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, for four games. Steven Matz takes the ball in game one, looking for his first win as he will go up against the Stro Show Marcus Stroman at 7:05 PM. “We’ve got a big series ahead of us with the Cardinals coming in, four games against them," Ross said. "See if we can carry a little bit of momentum into that series.”
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