A day in the life of Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals played out the string in a lost summer …
Kyle Hendricks made what could be his penultimate start at Wrigley in a Cubs uniform in the 5-1 loss to the Nationals on Saturday.
Despite not getting hit hard, Hendricks allowed four runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings, falling to 4-12. He left to a nice ovation from the crowd of 38,819, trailing 2-0 in the sixth, before Keegan Thompson served up a three-run home run to Joey Gallo.
The Cubs were no-hit into the seventh by MacKenzie Gore until Patrick Wisdom’s one-out home run and wound up with two hits. Wisdom said it was a “bummer” they were about to be officially eliminated from playoff contention, adding the season “slipped through our hands in a way” due to the poor two-month stretch in May and June.
“We ran out of time,” he said.
Hendricks should get one more start at Wrigley next weekend in the final series against the Cincinnati Reds. He’ll be a free agent in November and plans to continue playing. Where he’ll pitch is the question.
The Cubs have younger, cheaper options in Ben Brown, Jordan Wicks and Hayden Wesneski, and prospects in the system such as Cade Horton. They also could make a splash by signing a frontline starter such as Corbin Burnes or Max Fried.
That would mean the only way for Hendricks to return would be pitching out of the bullpen. Hendricks, the last player left from the 2016 champions, said Saturday that he’s taking things in and even likes hanging at Wrigley on off days.
Is starting a priority in 2025, or would Hendricks be OK with moving to a bullpen role?
“Just play, just pitch,” he said. “I love pitching, I love competing and I want to be that consistent force again for my teammates, my guys. That’s what I pride myself on. I wasn’t able to do that this year for the majority of the year, so no matter what the role is … just whenever I have the ball in my hand, being the consistent guy. They know what to expect from me.”
Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy called Hendricks “the ultimate pro” for how he handled his demotion to the bullpen after a brutal start.
“He’s going to do everything he can for the team,” Hottovy said. “He’s going to say the right things, do the right things, but it was a tough year in the beginning for him and to see him where he is now, continually competing, is good to see.”
The baseball world was still buzzing about Shohei Ohtani’s legendary game Thursday, when he hit three home runs, drove in 10 runs and became the first member of the 50-50 club — 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season.
“The fact that he’s not necessarily rewriting history but continuing to write history himself, surpassing what’s been done before, is incredible,” Cubs starter Shota Imanaga said Saturday through his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry. “I think that’s how it’s viewed in Japan as well. He’s continuing to improve on what’s been done in the past. What he’s been doing is amazing.”
Imanaga’s season also has been impressive, albeit not on an Ohtani scale. He’ll make his 29th start Sunday and has a 14-3 record and 3.03 ERA, the lowest by a Cubs rookie starter since Burt Hooton’s 2.80 in 1972.
Imanaga told me Saturday that the biggest difference between Japanese baseball and the major leagues is which stats are stressed.
“In the U.S., if you hit .250 but hit 40 home runs, you’re a really good hitter,” he said. “But in Japan, they value batting average, so if you’re hitting .300 with not many home runs, you’re considered a really good hitter. What each country values is different.
“In Japan they value wins a lot, so even if your ERA is a little bit higher, as long as you’re winning a lot, like 10-plus games, then you have a lot of value. But over here, they value ERA, walks and strikeouts.”
Photos: Washington Nationals 5, Chicago Cubs 1
Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams was demoted to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday after pulling an all-nighter at a downtown casino, sources told the Tribune. Manager Davey Martinez declined to give a reason, though he noted “it wasn’t performance based.”
A local podcaster had tweeted that Abrams, an All-Star, was seen in the casino at 8 a.m. Friday, only hours before the team’s 1:20 p.m. start against the Cubs. The Nationals already knew about it from their own sources.
Abrams fessed up when asked about it. How did he handle the demotion?
“We had our moments,” Martinez said. “We sat here together and we wept together. But for me, it’s about taking care of the person first and not the player. … I love the kid. He’s a great kid.”
I’m not sure how many players I saw in bars late at night before day games over the last 30 years as a baseball writer, but I never felt the urge to rat him out. It’s a different era of sports reporting, for sure.
Sammy Sosa is coming to town next Saturday to attend a 10th anniversary celebration of Club 400 in Lake of the Hills. Sosa will be signing and mingling with guests, reportedly for no pay.
Sosa will be back on the Cubs Hall of Fame ballot in November after tying for third-place last year behind Kerry Wood and Aramis Ramirez. If Sosa gets in and agrees to attend the ceremonies, the Cubs will reunite with a player who has been exiled from the organization since walking out on the team on the final day of the 2004 season.
The voters, which include the media and Cubs Hall of Famers, do not have to reveal their ballots. The inductees will be announced at the Cubs Convention in January.
Kudos to the Cubs for letting Josh Martinez, the son of Davey Martinez, hold his wedding at Wrigley after Friday’s game. Josh, who was born when Martinez played for the Cubs in 1988, looked at the Nationals schedule when it was released and told his dad he wanted to get married at Wrigley.
Davey, who also served as bench coach for Joe Maddon from 2015-17, pulled some strings with former Cubs vice president Julian Green and made it happen. He was told it was the first wedding performed on the field at Wrigley in over 30 years.
Davey’s only instructions to the wedding guests: “Don’t touch the ivy.”