DENVER — As Kyle Hendricks makes potentially his last starts with the Chicago Cubs ahead of his impending free agency, the veteran right-hander is showing his best stuff of the season.
Hendricks helped the Cubs avoid the sweep against the Colorado Rockies in a 6-2 victory Sunday. Hendricks became the first Cubs pitcher in history to toss at least six innings while allowing two or fewer hits and one or fewer runs in a start at Coors Field, which opened in 1995. The performance comes after Hendricks limited a potent Los Angeles Dodgers lineup to two runs in 4 1/3 innings on Monday.
“Results-wise that was one of the best I’ve had all year,” Hendricks said of Sunday’s outing. “It’s just clearly been a grind, but (catcher Miguel Amaya) was just awesome today. Miggy really stayed with me. Honestly, my stuff wasn’t great. I was executing pretty well, but Miggy was staying on it.”
The Cubs had opportunities to blow the game open, leaving 16 runners on base and going 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
“We left a small farming village in central Illinois with runners on base, but we played good offense,” manager Craig Counsell said.
The Cubs (76-73) return home as their chances of making the postseason remain bleak. It would require a historic comeback concurrent with an epic collapse by the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets for the final National League wild-card spot. If the Cubs go 10-3 the rest of the way, the Braves and Mets, which both hold the tiebreaker over the North Siders, each cannot win more than three games over the last two weeks.
Here are three more takeaways from the road trip.
1. Isaac Paredes is locked in.
The offensive production the Cubs expected when they acquired third baseman Isaac Paredes from the Tampa Bay Rays before the trade deadline has been hit or miss for stretches.
Paredes was already enduring a slump when the trade went down, and it’s taken time for the 25-year-old to get into a groove. The Cubs’ six-game trip has featured Paredes at near his best.
“We know Isaac pulls the ball, but we also saw in the LA series, he hits the other way and so I think it’s a sign of his bat path being a little better, his timing being a little better,” Counsell said. “And it’s the true self coming out and the best version coming out.”
Perhaps most importantly, Paredes’ approach lately has reflected the plate discipline he’s been known for in his career. Over the last week, Paredes recorded five walks while his two sacrifice fly balls showed his ability to put the ball in play in key spots.
“He’s doing a wonderful job of extending at-bats,” Counsell said. “That has been really consistent, his ability to take two strikes and extend at-bats is really impressive and that’s been a big part of him drawing walks. That’s why he’s got the ability to get on base.”
2. Jameson Taillon taps back into consistency.
For as consistent as veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon has been for the Cubs this year, he had an August to forget.
He entered September coming off a four-start stretch to end August in which he surrendered 17 runs and 28 hits in 22 2/3 innings (6.75 ERA). But Taillon didn’t let that slide carry into the final weeks of the regular season. His start Saturday against the Rockies — two runs allowed in six-plus innings — is part of a strong September (1.42 ERA) to close out a great year.
Taillon’s current 114 ERA+ would be his best since 2018 with the Pittsburgh Pirates (122 ERA+).
“As you go through a season, challenging yourself as somebody like how Jamo pitches of not always resting on what you’ve been good at, like, this is my foundation, but I also have to mix it up just a little bit to keep the league kind of on its heel, so to speak,” Counsell said. “Because in Jamo’s case, he’s just such a good executor of his stuff and I think when you get really good at executing stuff, it’s just like, ‘I’m gonna do this’ but then you have less room for mistakes when everybody kind of knows what you’re doing. And so I think Jamo made some little tweaks and is throwing some new things at the league.”
Taillon’s efficiency versus the Rockies set him up to pitch into the seventh inning for the third time in four starts. Backdoor cutters kept left-handed hitters neutralized and he mixed in the other five pitches against righties.
“I had the idea coming in here that Coors Field can scare a lot of people, and I just wanted to throw strikes and get ahead,” Taillon said. “We have a great defense and just not let the ballpark factor intimidate me or anything.”
3. Michael Busch is finishing his rookie season strong.
First baseman Michael Busch doesn’t appear to be slowing down as he approaches the finish line of his first 162-game big-league season.
The 26-year-old rookie’s performance over the last week — 11-for-23 (.478) with two doubles, four home runs, seven runs scored and 11 RBIs — is another strong stretch that could help him land a top-five finish in National League Rookie of the Year award voting.
Busch delivered the first multi-homer game of his career in Sunday’s win, part of a three-hit day for his third such game of the trip. His second long ball wasn’t a cheapie, hitting a 468-foot tank to right field for his 20th of the season.
“Seemingly like for most guys, home runs come in bunches for him,” Counsell said. “He’s seeing it good now and getting some pitches. … Overall, he’s had a good season. And every season’s got its ups and downs, and every season, 162 games, every game counts there. That’s another example of just staying with it.”
