Kyle Hendricks aims to extends Cubs' perfect mark vs. Nats
Kyle Hendricks is starting to feel like himself again.
The Cubs right-hander has put a rocky first half behind him to find his footing, and he will attempt to keep rolling on Saturday afternoon when Chicago continues a four-game series with the visiting Washington Nationals.
Since the start of August, Hendricks is 1-2 with a 4.68 ERA. However, the ERA was inflated by an Aug. 28 start against the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he allowed six runs in just 1 2/3 innings.
Excluding that outing, Hendricks has surrendered 12 runs (11 earned) in his past 31 innings, good for an ERA of 3.19. All that comes after he went 3-9 with a 6.86 ERA through the end of July.
Hendricks (4-11, 6.25 ERA) was especially strong last time out, earning a win against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday after giving up just one run on two hits in six innings.
"I can't thank (the Cubs) enough," Hendricks said. "All the way to the top, they just kept giving me opportunities that I didn't deserve, to be honest with you. All the way through this year. I'm just so thankful and grateful just to keep going."
In 10 career starts against Washington, Hendricks is 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA.
The Nationals (68-86) plan to counter with left-hander MacKenzie Gore (9-12, 4.17).
Gore is coming off a Sunday win against the Miami Marlins. He lasted six innings in that outing, yielding one run, which was unearned, and two hits.
Saturday marks Gore's fourth career start against Chicago, which has pinned the southpaw with a 1-2 record and a 7.04 ERA.
If Gore wants to end his career-long woes against the Cubs (79-75), he will need some help from a Washington offense that was held to five hits in a 3-1 loss on Friday. The defeat was the Nationals' fifth in a row.
Rookie James Wood, the Nationals' No. 3 hitter, smacked a solo shot in the eighth inning, but the top five batters in Washington's lineup combined to go 1-for-16 (.063).
"This is kind of the time where you've got to buckle in and just make that last push," Wood said. "I know the offseason is close, but you can't really be focused on that when we've still got games on the table."
A late push is just what Chicago needs with its playoff chances dwindling. The Cubs sit six games behind the New York Mets in the chase for the final National League wild card.
Even if the Cubs make a historic rally into the postseason, doing so through the wild-card race isn't acceptable to Chicago second baseman Nico Hoerner.
"This is a team and an organization that should not be set up for competing for wild cards," Hoerner said. "Definitely, you want to be the class of your division, and we weren't that this year. The division being clinched (by the Milwaukee Brewers) on Sept. 18 is significant."
