You would've thought that after his 2016 season and performance in the postseason that more people would think higher of Kyle Hendricks. He was the Game 1 starter in this year's NLDS against the Washington Nationals and once again showed off his brilliance. The Cubs took the series-opener, winning 3-0, behind Hendricks' seven shutout innings.
Even with Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg no-hitting the Cubs through five innings, you never felt a panic because Hendricks was awesome too. He surrendered a total of two hits, walking three, while striking out six. In a game that featured 10 Strasburg strikeouts, it was Hendricks who ended up pitching better and leading the Cubs to a 1-0 edge in the series.
You have to love Hendricks, who even the few times he got into some trouble remained calm as he's known to do.
As far as the offense, the third time through the order was a killer for Strasburg, who dominated the Cubs through five. In the sixth, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo delivered consecutive RBI-singles with two outs.
Rizzo came through again with two outs in the eighth, giving the Cubs some extra breathing room with an RBI-double.
Kyle Hendricks stepped up. The Cubs offense delivered when it got its chances and again we saw the Nationals cave. I love October baseball, especially when you're a Cubs fan. Jon Lester and Gio Gonzalez are the Game 2 starters on Saturday.
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