‘Savage’ Kyle Hendricks Has Best Game of Season, Shōta Imanage Rises to No. 5 in Power Rankings
This one is going to lean more than a little to the lazy side of things, but I don’t really have another option. Well, I guess I could have woken up a lot earlier to ensure I could push out several hundred more words. As it is, we’re heading up to the Chicagoland area for a baseball tournament that starts this afternoon and I really don’t know whether I’ll have time later.
In any case, Kyle Hendricks pitched his best game of the season in Wednesday’s win over the Giants. He set season highs for innings (5.2), strikeouts (8), and game score (72) while allowing a single run on just two hits. It was a vintage performance that helped the Cubs to just their second series victory in 11 tries.
The best part was how Hendricks appeared to be in control the whole time, something that hasn’t been the case for most of the season. Whether it’s the way he nibbles or just something in his demeanor, even as stoic as it always seems, he hasn’t exuded confidence. That old professorial superiority was back in full force against Heliot Ramos and the Giants.
Savage Kyle vs. Heliot Ramos pic.twitter.com/O0mpZZj2cw
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 19, 2024
“I still have a long way to go,” Hendricks told reporters after the game. “That’s just one today. I’ve got to keep stacking them together, whatever I’m asked to do or whenever I’m out there.”
The same thing goes for the Cubs as a whole because they desperately need a winning streak or three, even if we’re just talking about three or four games in a row here and there. Having a rotation that go through a couple turns without an injury would be helpful, especially with Justin Steele looking sharp and Shōta Imanaga back on track after that long layoff created a hiccup.
Imanaga is up to No. 5 in MLB’s starting pitcher power rankings after falling from the top spot all the way to No. 9 a while back. The lefty no longer sports the best ERA in the league, but that 1.89 mark is pretty strong when paired with a 7-1 record and 78 strikeouts. It’s not reasonable to expect him to maintain this pace, so it’s more imperative than ever that the Cubs do something to bolster the bullpen.
It helps that they upgraded the catcher position, even if it’s an incremental boost with Tomás Nido taking over for Yan Gomes. I just watched Moises Ballesteros go 3-for-4 in his first start behind the plate at Triple-A and am convinced he can hit in the bigs, though the glove still needs work.
Alright, time to hit the road.
