Kyle Hendricks is an ace and at this point it doesn't appear as though he'll be the first pitcher to start for Joe Maddon in the playoffs, but he probably should. Hendricks ended his season pitching into the eighth inning in his last three starts, including Friday's eight-inning outing against the Cardinals.
Hendricks allowed two runs in his eight innings of work, before he was pulled for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth, when the Cubs broke the game wide open, eventually winning 8-4.
The Cubs jumped all over Adam Wainwright in the first, scoring two runs and then Kris Bryant hit a 448-foot bomb in the fourth.
Anthony Rizzo and Daniel Murphy each added a sac-fly and then in the eighth the Cubs scored three more runs on a bases-loaded walk by David Bote and a two-run single by Albert Almora Jr. The Cardinals scored two runs in the ninth, but the Cubs comfortably won 8-4. The magic number is down to two to clinch the division for the Cubs, as the Brewers begin a three-game series at home against the Tigers tonight. Meanwhile for the Cardinals, their playoff hopes are dwindling following their fourth loss in a row. Cole Hamels and Miles Mikolas will start at Wrigley Field on Saturday. Back to Hendricks. He ended 2018, with a new career high in innings pitched at 199, and boy did he finish the year strong.
Jon Lester is lined up to pitch Game 1 of the NLDS, if the Cubs do indeed clinch the division, but Hendricks will definitely make that a tough decision for Maddon.
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