The Chicago Cubs enter the final week of the regular season with the ability to control their own destiny in the Wild Card race and they made a smart move ahead of their road trip that will hopefully pay off.
Kyle Hendricks, who started against the Pittsburgh Pirates last Thursday, has been moved from his scheduled rotation spot and will not be pitching against the Atlanta Braves this week. Instead, the Cubs will have Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon and Marcus Stroman starting in Atlanta, while Hendricks gets pushed back and will now start against the Milwaukee Brewers.
If you recall his previous start against the Braves earlier this season at Wrigley Field, Hendricks was pummeled in four innings of work by the best offensive teams in baseball this season and one of the best offenses in the history of the game. On Aug. 4, Hendricks surrendered 7 earned runs on 8 hits and 3 walks. The veteran right-hander gave up two home runs and in a blink of an eye that game was pretty much over.
Meanwhile, Hendricks has made two starts against the Brewers this season and he’s been pretty good against his division rivals. In those two starts, Hendricks has given up just one earned run in 12 innings, holding the Brewers to 8 hits and 3 walks in what ended up being two wins for the Cubs.
Overall this season, Hendricks has a recorded a 3.66 ERA in 132.2 innings. If you take out the start against the Braves, that’s a 3.29 ERA in 128.2 innings.
Now, while the Cubs have their rotation lined up to their liking, it’s no guarantee it works out. The Braves are still dangerous and it’s not like too many of their players are resting.
Meanwhile, Steele has looked off in his previous two outings, tossing a total of 9 innings and allowing 12 earned runs on 15 hits against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Pirates, respectively. The lefty has tossed more innings this season than ever before and fatigue may certainly be factoring into his late-season struggles.
As for the rest of the series against the Braves, Jameson Taillon may actually be turning the corner. The much-maligned pitcher had awful results through his first couple months with the Cubs and despite a few bumps in the second half, Taillon has been steady since his start against the New York Yankees on July 7. Since then, Taillon has a 3.57 ERA in 80.2 innings. You’ll absolutely take that through a 14-start stretch.
Hopefully the Cubs get some length from their starters in the first two games because Stroman is starting the series finale and it seems that even at his best right now, that may only mean 4 good innings following his extended stint on the injured list. Luckily, the Cubs have a great piggyback option in right-hander Javier Assad, who stepped in after Stroman during Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies, and pitched four scoreless innings.
The Cubs will begin Tuesday with a one-game lead over the Miami Marlins for the third Wild Card spot and technically tied with the Diamondbacks for the second spot. Chicago and Arizona both have an 82-74 record, but the Diamondbacks have the tiebreaker over the Cubs. So in reality, the Cubs are still one game back of the Diamondbacks.
Arizona ends the season with three games apiece against the White Sox and Houston Astros. The Marlins finish their regular season schedule against the New York Mets and Pirates. Both of those three-game series will be on the road for Miami.
