Kyle Hendricks’ first three starts this season were generally ones he, and we, would like to forget: far too many base hits and walks allowed, a WHIP over 2, and three Cubs losses. It was said that Kyle needed to make some minor mechanical tweaks to get back to where he’d been the last three seasons.
Whatever he did worked perfectly, as Friday’s outing was vintage Kyle, with weak contact induced for groundouts and strikeouts achieved on his excellent changeup. The allowed just three singles — one of them literally off him, his body, in the seventh — and struck out 11, helping lead the Cubs to their fourth straight win, 5-1 over the Diamondbacks on a cold, very windy day at Wrigley Field.