SAN FRANCISCO — Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who left Game 2 of the NLDS during the fourth inning after a line drive off the bat of Angel Pagan struck his right forearm Saturday night, was sore on Sunday but manager Joe Maddon did not “anticipate anything really negative” about the Cy Young candidate’s condition the day after.
“Nothing new. He’s just sore,” Maddon said Sunday before the Cubs worked out in anticipation of Game 3 at AT&T Park. “But I have not got anything highly negative from anybody.”
Hendricks, who suffered a bad bruise, threw a few warmup pitches after getting hit before exiting. X-Rays were negative. When he came into the clubhouse Sunday he and Maddon talked briefly, Maddon said.
“I’ve not spoken to our trainer yet, about what is going on.”
Hendricks led the National Leauge with a 2.13 earned run average.
No words needed
How did Maddon deal with Javy Baez after the budding star stood at home and watched a ball he thought was leaving the park fall short, then, to make matters worse, got thrown out at second base?
“I gave him a fist pump and looked him in the eye,” Maddon said. “And he knew what that was about.”
Baez has been a central figure in the first two games with his slick, rangy glove work and his home run in the Cubs’ 1-0 victory in Game 1. At 23, his youthful poor judgment can scream as loudly as his talent.
“You’ve seen he can be prone to that mental mistake on occasion, and we talked about that,” Maddon said. “But when it comes down to pure ability and talent a very youthful moment in his life, it’s different. It’s going to keep getting better.”
Maddon said he “doesn’t care” about the physical mistakes when it comes to Baez, because they are inevitable with any player.
“But when it comes to the mental mistakes, that’s what you have to get rid of. That’s what causes the losses.”
Pitch and Hit Club
With Jake Arrieta and Madison Bumgarner in the lineups, each team will have nine capable hitters, almost creating the equivalent of an American League game with the designated hitter. Arrieta his hitting .262 with two homers, including a 440-foot home run against the Diamondbacks. Bumgarner, who hit 14 career homers, has appeared as a pinch hitter 11 times during his career, and he pinch hit in Game 2 against the Cubs, reaching first on an error on a hard-hit ball that took a tricky hop on third baseman Kris Bryant.
Arrieta, who has lobbied for a pitcher’s home run derby, should expect Bumgarner to pitch him tough.
“The last thing any pitcher wants to do is give up a hit to another pitcher,” Bumgarner said. “You might pitch him a little tougher, even.”
Cubs pitchers are swinging it in the series. Hendricks drove in two runs with a single and Travis Wood, who replaced Hendricks after the injury, homered in Game 2.
