CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- After a rough start to his season, Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks made it look easy in leading his team to a 4-0 against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon.
How easy? Hendricks posted the Cubs' first "Maddux" since 2009, needing just 81 pitches to fire a four-hit shutout. A reference to the hallmark of Hall of Famer Greg Maddux's career, a Maddux is when a pitcher needs fewer than 100 pitches to throw a complete-game shutout. Maddux did it on 13 occasions in his career.
Hendricks entered Friday with an ugly 5.33 ERA and 1.78 WHIP in five starts. He quickly turned it around in dominating the Cardinals.
"There was nothing different in my routine," Hendricks said after his third career shutout. "We tried to implement a few things between starts. We talked about pitching more aggressively to hitters. We are still working on all of those things."
In his past two starts at Wrigley Field, Hendricks has scattered seven hits in 16 scoreless innings. Both of his wins have come at home, where he has a 0.86 ERA. Hendricks has an 8.78 ERA on the road this season.
"There have been better games I have pitched giving up more hits and runs," Hendricks said in reference to a defense that made several strong plays behind him. "Today I just got lucky on a few of them."
Hendricks' 81 pitches were the fewest a Cubs pitcher needed for shutout since Jon Lieber threw 78 pitches in a one-hit shutout of the Reds on June 29, 2001.
Cub in a complete game shutout since Jon Lieber had a 78 pitch whitewash versus Cincinnati on June 29, 2001. Lieber's game was a one-hitter. Coincidentally, Lieber was in attendance Friday to watch Hendricks' masterpiece.
"He was better than I was," Lieber said. "I tried to work quickly in that game, and my defense did a great job like Hendricks' teammates did today."
Anthony Rizzo's three-run homer in the third inning was all the offense Hendricks and the Cubs would end up needing. The Cubs are an MLB-best 16-6 in their past 22 games.
"That was fun to watch," Rizzo said of Hendricks' gem. "It was fun to play behind. When we play good defense like we did today and get a game pitched like that, we know it's the right formula."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
