Chicago Cubs Recap: Kyle Hendricks dominant in win

The Chicago Cubs picked up a series win on Sunday, despite managing just three hits as Kyle Hendricks pitched 7 1/3 scoreless frames to lead the team to a 2-0 win.

Hendricks (4-4, 3.82) has been up-and-down for Chicago all season-long, but he was definitely ‘up’ on Sunday, striking out half-a-dozen and walking just one.

His back-and-forth has been on full-display in his last four starts. After tossing five shutout frames back on June 13, he combined to allow 10 earned runs over the course of his next two outings, before bouncing back against Miami.

As for the offense, which has struggled of late, Chris Coghlan did the heavy lifting, scoring both runs for the Chicago Cubs.

The first came in the bottom of the first, when Miami starter Mat Latos spiked a fastball, allowing the Chicago outfielder to scurry home from third after walking earlier in the frame.

Latos (3-6, 4.90) was just as good as Hendricks, if not better, allowing only one hit over seven innings of work. He struck out seven, but had two pivotal wild pitches in the loss.

Miami (35-48) saw its deficit grow in the eighth, when Coghlan squared up a pitch from Carter Capps, scoring Chris Denorfia from second to make it 2-0 Chicago.

Pedro Strop was again lights-out, tossing two-thirds of a frame in relief of Hendricks and Jason Motte shut the door in the ninth, tossing a 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save of the season.

What’s Next:

Chicago will face a major test this week, as they welcome baseball’s best team to Wrigley Field in the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals.

The series opens Monday night at 7:05 p.m. CT with left-hander Jon Lester (4-6, 3.74) squaring off against John Lackey (6-5, 3.30).

Next: Should Cubs trade Alcantara this summer?