Kyle Hendricks was outstanding against the Cardinals Wednesday night, when he continued his dominance over the Cubs division rival. He pitched seven scoreless inning, escaping multiple jams early on to keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard.
Hendricks has only allowed one earned run in three starts against the Cardinals this season.
The Cubs offense squeaked across two runs and Hendricks picked up his first win since June.
Ian Happ put the Cubs ahead with his first RBI of the season, knocking Kris Bryant in with a two-out single in the sixth.
Then in the eighth inning Javier Báez worked his magic again. After reaching on a double that barely landed fair down the left-field line, Báez was picked off, or so it seemed.
Kyle Ryan and Brandon Kintzler retired the side in the bottom of the eighth and then Craig Kimbrel took over in the ninth.
Kimbrel’s had good and bad stretches during his first month with the Cubs, with his last appearance being a complete disaster in Milwaukee. He blew the save and lost the game, giving up two home runs for just the third time in his career, but the second time already in a Cubs uniform.
Tonight he was much more sharp, starting off with two fastballs hitting 97mph. After a strikeout to start the ninth, Kimbrel allowed a single and a double, putting the game-winning run at the plate.
Unlike Saturday night, Kimbrel kept it together, getting a ground ball to third base for the second out and then striking out Yairo Munoz to end the game.
It’s the first Cubs victory in St. Louis this year and they’ll try to win their first road series in nearly three months.
