Hendricks on point as Cubs take down Cardinals

[September 08, 2020]  Kyle Hendricks allowed one run over eight strong innings, and the Chicago Cubs cruised to a 5-1 victory over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals on Monday evening.

Hendricks (5-4) walked none and struck out four while throwing 70 of 97 pitches for strikes. The veteran right-hander gave way in the ninth inning to Rowan Wick, who retired the side to secure the win.

Willson Contreras drove in a pair of runs to lead the Cubs at the plate. Chicago (24-18) snapped a three-game losing streak.

Matt Wieters drove in the lone run for St. Louis (17-16), which dropped to 5-5 against the Cubs on the season. The Cardinals lost for only the third time in their last nine games.

Cardinals starter Johan Oviedo (0-2) took the loss after giving up five runs (three earned) on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander walked three and struck out one.

The Cubs jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Ian Happ hit a leadoff double, advanced to third base on a single by Kris Bryant and scored on a double-play groundout by Anthony Rizzo.

In the third, Chicago pulled ahead 2-0 on a sacrifice fly by Rizzo.

Jason Kipnis hit an RBI double in the fourth to make it 3-0. He drove in Cameron Maybin, who had doubled in the previous at-bat.

Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks (28) delivers against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Contreras put the Cubs on top 5-0 with a two-run single in the fifth. Chicago had a pair of runners in scoring position after back-to-back errors by Matt Carpenter and Kolten Wong in the Cardinals' infield.

Wieters put the Cardinals on the board in the seventh with his first RBI of the season. He waited on a changeup from Hendricks and knocked it into center field to score Brad Miller from second base.

Tyler Webb, Seth Elledge and Rob Kaminsky combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to keep the Cardinals in contention in the late innings.

Chicago improved to 14-11 at home. St. Louis fell to 9-9 on the road.

--Field Level Media

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