CHICAGO — Rebounding from a mediocre outing in his previous start, Kyle Hendricks lived up to his nickname of "The Professor" by schooling the Kansas City Royals (3-9) for most of his seven-inning start on Tuesday. Thanks in large part to Hendricks' performance, the Chicago Cubs (9-2) secured a two-game sweep of the Royals at Wrigley Field.
Winning 5-4, the Cubs scored all five of their runs via the long ball. Jason Heyward, Jason Kipnis and Willson Contreras went yard in that order, as the Cubs overcame an early 1-0 deficit and never trailed after Heyward crushed a two-run blast in the bottom of the second. The North Siders survived a ninth-inning comeback attempt, as the Royals scored two runs in the top of the ninth and advanced the tying run to third before the final out was recorded.
Inning-by-Inning Breakdown:
T1: Hendricks got off to an auspicious start, going 1-2-3 in the first.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
B1: Pitching on his 24th birthday, Brady Singer started for the Royals. In the bottom of the first, he gave up a one-out single to Anthony Rizzo but kept the Cubs off the scoreboard.
Score: Royals 0, Cubs 0
T2: Salvador Perez led off with a double and then reached third on an single that he could have potentially scored on. Adalberto Mondesi plated Perez three pitches later, though, with a base knock to left. Hendricks limited the Royals to one run in the second.
Score: Royals 1, Cubs 0
B2: Following a leadoff single by Contreras, Heyward went yard for the first time on the season. Heyward's 412-foot blast to right gave Chicago the lead. Singer went to walk a pair of batters with two outs before Kris Bryant hit into an inning-ending double play.
Score: Royals 1, Cubs 2
T3: Hendricks sat the Royals down in order. Ryan O'Hearn struck out swinging for the third out and was not pleased with the home plate umpire, as a low pitch was called a strike before O'Hearn whiffed at strike three.
Score: Royals 1, Cubs 2
B3: Singer sat his opposing batters down in order in the third frame, too, tallying two swinging strikeouts in the process.
Score: Royals 1, Cubs 2
T4: Bryant misplayed a chopper hit Mondesi, who was credited with a two-out single. Another single followed, but Bryant redeemed himself by handling a grounder and getting the force out at third to end the half-inning.
Score: Royals 1, Cubs 2
B4: Heyward notched a base hit, and Kipnis plated him two at-bats later. Kipnis' two-out dinger sailed 423 feet out to right-center.
Score: Royals 1, Cubs 4
T5: Bubba Starling hit a leadoff single and reached third on the single from Whit Merrifield that followed. Former Cub Jorge Soler drove Starling home with a sacrifice fly. A 4-6-3 double play wrapped up the top of the fifth.
Score: Royals 2, Cubs 4
B5: Singer drew a groundout and tabbed two strikeouts in the fifth.
Score: Royals 2, Cubs 4
T6: Hendricks registered a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless sixth. Mondesi struck out on three pitches.
Score: Royals 2, Cubs 4
B6: Taking advantage of a shift, Kyle Schwarber laid down a perfect bunt to third base for a leadoff single. Unfortunately for Schwarber, Contreras proceeded to ground into a double play.
Score: Royals 2, Cubs 4
T7: Hendricks breezed through his final inning on the mound, needing just seven pitches to record three outs.
Score: Royals 2, Cubs 4
B7: Tyler Zuber replaced Singer on the bump prior to the bottom of the seventh. The Cubs wasted a scoring opportunity after loading the bases with one out. Victor Caratini hit a leadoff double and advanced to third on a Kipnis groundout. Ian Happ and Bryant walked in back-to-back plate appearances. Thereafter, a swinging bunt by Rizzo resulted in a force out at the plate, and Javy Baez grounded out to cap off the inning. Seen fuming at first base, Rizzo was not pleased with himself after hitting his tapper on the infield grass.
Score: Royals 2, Cubs 4
T8: Jeremy Jeffress relieved Hendricks and worked a scoreless eighth out of the bullpen.
Score: Royals 2, Cubs 4
B8: Trevor Rosenthal toed the rubber for the Royals in the eighth, and he was taken deep by Contreras on a 422-foot solo shot. Rosenthal was removed from the contest later in the inning.
Score: Royals 2, Cubs 5
T9: Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel's third appearance went much like his first two appearances, as he struggled through another lackluster outing. Kyle Ryan replaced Kimbrel, and, with the tying run on third, Bryant made a great diving play at third before firing across the diamond for the final out.
Final Score: Royals 4, Cubs 5
Statistical Breakdown:
Chicago Cubs: Batting: 1 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 2-Out RBI, 2 GIDP, 0-4 RISP, 6 LOB; Fielding: 1 E, 1 DP; Pitching: 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP
Kansas City Royals: Batting: 2 2B, 4 RBI, 1 2-Out RBI, 1 SF, 1 GIDP, 3-9 RISP, 5 LOB; Baserunning: 1 SB; Fielding: 2 DP; Pitching: 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 11 K, 3 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP
Studs of the Game:
Chicago Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (SP): 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP; Jason Heyward (RF): 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR
Kansas City Royals: Adalberto Mondesi (SS): 3-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 2B, 1-1 RISP
Duds of the Game:
Chicago Cubs: Javier Baez (SS): 0-4, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K, 0-1 RISP, 1 defensive assisted DP
Kansas City Royals: Brady Singer (SP): 5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 2 HR, 0 HBP, 0 IBB, 0 WP
Up Next: The Cubs and the Royals will reconvene in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Aug. 5, for the first of two games at Kauffman Stadium. Chicago right-hander Yu Darvish (1-1, 2.70) will pitch against Kansas City left-hander Kris Bubic (0-1, 4.50) on what figures to be a warm, mostly clear night at the ballpark. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. CDT.
Box Score:
| Kansas City Royals at Chicago Cubs |
| Aug 4, 2020 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
R |
H |
E |
| Kansas City (3-9) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
10 |
0 |
| Chicago (9-2) |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
- |
5 |
9 |
1 |
| W: Kyle Hendricks (2-1) L: Brady Singer (0-1) S: Kyle Ryan (1) |
Highlights:
