(670 The Score) The Cubs have named right-hander Kyle Hendricks their Opening Day starter, manager David Ross announced Thursday.
Hendricks, 30, will take the mound when the Cubs host the Brewers in their opener at Wrigley Field on July 24. It will mark the first Opening Day start of his career.
Ross told the Cubs of his decision during a team meeting Thursday morning, then later pulled Hendricks into his office to explain it on a more personal level.
"He's nonchalant, no big deal," Ross said of Hendricks. "It was like a bigger deal for me to tell him than it was for him to hear the news.
"It doesn't matter if it's Game 7 or a scrimmage for us, he's the same guy out there."
The decision to start Hendricks over right-hander Yu Darvish wasn't made because of the results from the team's scrimmage Tuesday night, Ross said. In that most recent outing, Hendricks didn't surrender a run while Darvish allowed two home runs and four runs over three innings. Darvish will start the Cubs' second game of the season on July 25.
Hendricks was 11-10 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 30 starts in 2019. He's been a model of consistency in his six MLB seasons, posting a 3.14 ERA for his career and never recording worse than a 3.95 ERA for a single season.
"I'm just excited to get back on the field with the boys, with my teammates, just having them start to count," Hendricks said of his reaction.
Left-hander Jon Lester has been the Cubs' Opening Day starter in four of the last five seasons (right-hander Jake Arrieta got the nod in 2017). But the 36-year-old Lester is toward the end of his career, and Hendricks has emerged as the Cubs' most consistent starter.
"I love the fact that he does something at the highest level and does it differently than other people in the game," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said. "When you talk to other people in the game, I think, everyone, they just admire him. He's incredibly difficult to hit, his command, his pitch mix, his preparation, his competitiveness, it's at the top of the scale.
"It's nice to see someone in this day in age, with guys throwing 95 to 100 (miles per hour) all the time, it's nice to see someone that can pitch at the top of a rotation that can dominate a postseason and do it with guile and do it with command and do it with a pitch mix. I'm thrilled for him."
The Cubs' rotation is nearly set with Hendricks, Darvish, Lester and right-hander Tyler Chatwood. The fifth spot in the rotation is unclear. Left-hander Jose Quintana began throwing from 60 feet on Thursday in his first step back from surgery on July 2 to repair a left thumb laceration. Right-hander Alec Miller and right-hander Colin Rea are among candidates to grab the last rotation spot if Quintana is unable to start the season.
The first pitch of the Cubs' season from Hendricks is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. CT on July 24 from Wrigley Field.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
