Cubs 3, Reds 0: Greetings and (probably) farewell to Kyle Hendricks

Today at Wrigley Field we had one of those events where they would say, “If you pitch this to the Hollywood producers, they’ll kick you out of their office.”

Kyle Hendricks, a World Series hero and Cubs starter for over a decade, has struggled all season. It is clear that this was most likely his last start as a cub.

And then he goes out and throws a classic Professor play that only allows two hits, and the Cubs won the game over the Reds 3-0 with a rally in the eighth inning. It’s a shame Kyle wasn’t able to get one final win in his Cubs career, but we will all take with us the memories of a storied Cubs career and this great pitching performance.

Hendricks received loud applause as he walked to the bullpen to warm up and again as he left the pen at the start of the game.

And then he threw a game that could have easily fit into his 2016 season, his best season, or any of his other good years. He allowed a single in the first inning with two outs and then only allowed one more baserunner in the sixth inning, a two-out walk in the third.

In the first, Kyle recorded one of his two strikeouts on the day when he tagged out to Elly De La Cruz (VIDEO).

That’s the type of changeup that has given Hendricks many, many outs over the last 11 seasons.

And as is typical of Hendricks’ starts, when he does well, he gets some help from his defense. This piece by Dansby Swanson and Michael Busch in part four is a perfect example (VIDEO).

The Cubs also couldn’t break through on offense, despite having RISP in the first, third and fifth innings. Rhett Lowder and a few Reds substitutes kept them within the score with just four to six goals.

In the seventh, Hendricks allowed a walk and allowed a single with one out, but got a pair of flies to left to end the inning. As was the case on Friday, the wind was blowing hard and several fly balls from both teams that might have been in the stands on other days were kept in the yard.

Hendricks was sent out early in the eighth and got Santiago Espinal to first base on a ground ball. Tommy Hottovy, who has been in the Cubs organization almost as long as Hendricks and has been on the coaching staff since 2014 and pitching coach since 2019, came to remove him from the game.

You would be forgiven if a few tears were shed at this moment (VIDEO).

This year probably didn’t turn out nearly as Kyle and the Cubs had hoped, but that ending… just wonderful. I’m not sure if Kyle really wanted to go to the curtain, but the ovation was so loud that his teammates urged him to go back out. An incredible moment at Wrigley Field, and no matter what happens to Kyle in the future, we will remember this day – and a wonderful 11 ​​years as a Cub – forever. For me personally it was great to be a part of it as Hendricks has long been my current favorite boy.

More on The Professor by JohnW53 from BCB:

This was Kyle Hendricks’ 37th scoreless start, tying him with Ed Reulbach for the fifth-most starts by a Cub since 1901. Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown had 52; Rick Reuschel, 43; Hippo Vaughn and Carlos Zambrano, 38. So Hendricks is third in the live ball era. Ferguson Jenkins had 34; Orval overall, 32; and Jake Arrieta and Greg Maddux, 29.

It was also Hendricks’ 13th start in at least six innings in which he gave up no more than two hits. That puts him in fourth place with Brown. Arrieta had 24; Zambrano, 17; and Kerry Wood, 15.

I want to say it straight away: every single person here needs to vote for Kyle Hendricks as player of the game for tomorrow’s Heroes and Goats. Let’s make him the first unanimous winner of the poll.

Tyson Miller relieved Kyle and immediately gave up a single to Noelvi Marte – but Miguel Amaya threw him out trying to steal, and Jonathan India grounded out to end the inning.

It’s still scoreless, but the Cubs took care of that in the eighth. Swanson led off with a double, and another single by Cody Bellinger (who moved to second on the throw-in) put runners on second and third. The Reds intentionally walked Seiya Suzuki to load the bases with no one out.

Oops – maybe that wasn’t such a good idea by the Reds, because Isaac Paredes, sent out for a pinch hit, singled in Swanson to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead (VIDEO).

Nico Hoerner made a force play at the plate, loading the bases. Pete Crow-Armstrong scored with a Suzuki single to make it 2-0 (VIDEO).

With the bases still full, Mike Tauchman was sent in as a pinch-hitter and drew a four-pitch walk to score the Cubs’ third run (VIDEO).

That was enough for Porter Hodge, who took the chance to save the ball. A one-pitch ground out and a called strikeout set up this play (VIDEO).

When he was deemed safe on the field, it was pretty clear that Swanson and Bellinger had made a play and retired Spencer Steer, and the decision was overturned on review and the game was over. Not 1:48 like Friday, but still a brisk 2:13, and all the dire predictions of rain were wrong, with just a few showers falling throughout the afternoon.

More on this shutout win from BCB’s JohnW53:

Yesterday and today the Cubs rattled off two straight shutout wins for the second time this season. They did it July 10-11 in Baltimore. The last season they had multiple shutout streaks was 2018, when they also had two games.

Since 1901, the Cubs have had 98 two-game shutout streaks and eight three-game shutout streaks. The last of three events took place from July 21 to 24, 1992.

So. It would be nice to shut out the Reds on Sunday and accomplish something no Cubs team has accomplished in 32 years.

Here is another video of Kyle Hendricks with his post-game comments (VIDEO).

I’ll have a lot more to say about Kyle Hendricks when it becomes clear what his future holds. Personally, I hope this is the culmination of his MLB career and that he retires with one last great performance. Kyle’s 5.92 ERA isn’t great, but it’s the first time this year he’s been under 6, and he posted a 2.89 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in five starts and 28 innings in September .

With this win, their 83rd, the Cubs matched their 2023 win total, meaning they can surpass that by one point with a win on Sunday. As of this writing, the Cubs have not listed a starting pitcher for the season finale. I would have liked to see Shōta Imanaga out there again, but…

So it could be Caleb Kilian or a bullpen game. As always, we await developments. The Reds start Hunter Greene. Game time for Sunday’s season finale is 2:20 p.m. CT (note the later start time!) and will be televised on Marquee Sports Network.