Kyle Hendricks pitched six scoreless innings and Ben Zobrist drove in four runs as the Chicago Cubs beat the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Thursday in the opener of a four-game series between two of MLB’s hottest teams.
Hendricks (2-2) allowed two hits, struck out four and walked two as Chicago began a 10-game homestand with their fourth consecutive win and eighth in nine games.
Zobrist hit a two-run single in the fourth and a two-run homer in the eighth, helping the Cubs improve their major league-best record to 21-6 for their best start since they were 23-4 in 1907.
Photo: AFP
Jayson Werth hit a long two-run homer in the ninth for Washington, who had won five of six. The Nationals began the day with the league’s second-best record at 19-8.
Joe Ross (3-1) matched Hendricks for much of the night, striking out nine in 6-2/3 innings. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed five hits and walked two.
“The Nationals are a great team and they’ll be good for the rest of the season,” Zobrist told MLB.com.
Photo:AFP
“We played good ball tonight, and they got a taste of it, but we’ve got three more games against them,” he said.
“We didn’t do quite a few things well tonight,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said.
“It’s probably the worst overall game we’ve played in a while, but we were still in the ballgame,” Baker added.
The ivy at Wrigley Field came into play after Tommy La Stella singled to open the Chicago fourth inning and Kris Bryant lofted a ball to center that sank into the vegetation covering the outfield wall.
Nationals center-fielder Michael Taylor could not find it and signaled by holding up both of his arms. Bryant was awarded a ground-rule double, and after Anthony Rizzo was intentionally walked, Bryant and La Stella scored on Zobrist’s single.
“I couldn’t tell if [Taylor] pushed it into the ivy,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told the MLB Web site.
“Nevertheless, apparently it’s OK to push the ball in the ivy. Once it’s in there, you can’t reach in and grab it,” Maddon said. “I told the umpires — I didn’t say ‘my bad,’ because I don’t like that phrase. I said: ‘I don’t know what I’m talking about,’ and I left.”
In other games on Thursday, it was:
‧ Padres 5, Mets 3
‧ Sox 7, White Sox 3
‧ Mariners 6, Astros 3
‧ Cardinals 4, Phillies 0
‧ Orioles 1, Yankees 0, 10 innings
‧ Jays 12, Rangers 2
‧ Indians 9, Tigers 4
‧ Rockies 17, Giants 7
‧ Reds 9, Brewers 5
‧ Marlins 4, Diamondbacks 0
Additional reporting by staff writer
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