Streak Over: Hendricks impressive in loss to Cardinals |
ST. LOUIS - Coming into this week, we talked about the Chicago Cubs (53-52) and their chances to become buyers instead of sellers. For that to happen, they needed to go at least 4-2 against two very beatable teams, which would have put them, at worst, one game under .500. Not only did they go 4-2, but they did even better as they entered Sunday's contest with the St. Louis Cardinals (47-60) with a perfect 5-0 week and an eight-game winning streak.
With this being their lone trip to Busch Stadium this season, the Cubs had an opportunity to sweep the Cardinals in a four-game set which is a rare feat. For that to happen, the Cubs had the perfect man on the mound as they turned to the Professor Kyle Hendricks. Known for having outstanding success against the Cardinals, Hendricks continued to pitch well as he gave the Cubs seven strong innings, allowing just three runs. Typically that would be an effort good enough to pick up a win, but not on this day, as Steven Matz was even better. After picking up his first win of the season last week against the Cubs, Matz was at it again as he continues to pitch well against the Northsiders. Matz was brilliant on the mound giving the Cardinals six shutout innings of four-hit baseball as the Cardinals shut out the Cubs 3-0 to end the Cubs winning streak at eight games. Matz is 2-0 against the Cubs this season after starting the year 0-7. One thing the Cardinals have done well throughout this series was score first, which was the case again on Sunday. Lars Nootbaar continued to be a thorn in the Cubs side as he led the game off with a leadoff double in the bottom of the first. Following that double, Hendricks retired the next two hitters and was on the verge of escaping an early jam, only to see Tyler O'Neill come through with an RBI knock to make things 1-0. That run would be all the Cardinals would need, but given how good the Cubs have been offensively since the all-star break, you knew the Cardinals didn't feel comfortable. The Cubs didn't have many scoring chances in the game, but they did have one against Matz in the second, with Yan Gomes leading things off with a single before advancing to second on the Christopher Morel single shortly after. In need of a hit to push across a run, that hit never came as Matz worked around that brief jam to keep the Cubs off the board. Not only did the Cardinals get to Hendricks in the first inning, but the offense was at it again in the second as they continued to be aggressive against the Cubs right-hander. A leadoff single from Jordan Walker got things started as he would advance to second with a stolen base. That was followed by a single from Taylor Motter to put runners on the corners, while Andrew Knizner came through with another RBI knock to extend the Cardinal's lead to 2-0. Hendricks was once again on the verge of escaping a jam with minimal damage, only to have 2022 NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt come through with another RBI knock to push the lead to 3-0. Those would be the lone runs Hendricks would allow, but it would be up to the Cubs offense to come back as they were playing from behind again. Not only were the Cubs held scoreless through the duration of Matz's start, but Hendricks did a great job settling in after his shaky start and held the Cardinals offense to minimal baserunners the next five innings to give the Cubs seven strong innings. He even worked around a leadoff Brendon Donovan double to begin the sixth as Hendricks continued to look like the pitcher of old throughout the second half of his start. One of the Cardinal's most prominent issues this season has been their bullpen, and after Jordan Hicks was dealt mid-game, the bullpen will be facing even more questions. With Matz out of the game to begin the seventh, the Cubs hoped this would be their opportunity to battle back. Giovanny Gallegos was the first out of the Cardinals pen and retired the Cubs in order to keep the shutout alive. He followed that up with a scoreless eighth inning as the Cubs continued to search for answers at the plate. After another strong start from Hendricks, David Ross went to his pen, where Michael Fulmer was called upon to pitch. Say what you want about Fulmer this season, but he has turned his season around since mid-May, and it continued with a very good eighth inning to bring his ERA down to the low 4.0 range. Down to their final three outs, this would have been the time when Hicks would have been coming into the game, but with him heading north to Toronto JoJo Romero may be taking over the closing duties going forward. For the most part, Romero was outstanding as he retired the first two hitters he faced before Yan Gomes laced a double to keep the inning alive. Hoping to put another runner on base to bring the tying run to the plate, Romero wouldn't let that happen as he struck out Dansby Swanson to end the Cubs eight-game winning streak and gave the Cardinals the 3-0 shutout win. Despite the loss, the Cubs still finished the week 5-1 and have put themselves in a position to be buyers at the deadline as they are right back in the NL Central race. Gomes led the way for the Cubs with two of the team's five hits as Cody Bellinger, Morel, and Miguel Amaya added the rest. The Cubs will now kick off what could be their biggest homestand of the season as they welcome the Cincinnati Reds for four and the Braves for three. This Reds series is crucial as they could move into second place if they can find a way to win this series.
