Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (6/4/19): Cubs 6, Rockies 3 – Schwarber, Báez Power Cubs as Hendricks Shines

It was a lovely night at Wrigley Field Tuesday, with the wind blowing out and the temperature at a perfect 78 degrees. Kyle Hendricks took the mound for the Cubs, and boy did he pitch well. Sure, he allowed three runs, but two of them were driven in by weak contact.

Hendricks had the Rockies hitters off-balance all night long, which I’m sure Lionel Richie would appreciate. Pedro Strop made his first appearance since returning to the big league club, pitching a clean 9th inning to seal the win.

The offense stepped up tonight, hitting a couple long bombs and getting two hits with runners in scoring position. They did a great job of supporting Hendricks, answering each Rockies score and pushing the lead to a more comfortable margin late. (Box score)

Why the Cubs Won

Hendricks continued his phenomenal play, striking out 10 and walking only one. He had a little trouble in the 1st inning when the Rockies hit three straight soft singles with two outs to push a run across, but it was smooth sailing otherwise.

Key Moment

Kyle Schwarber stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the 5th with two outs and the score tied. After taking a borderline curve that could have been strike three, he crushed a Jeff Hoffman fastball 111 miles per hour into the right field bleachers to give the Cubs the lead.

Stats that Matter

• This was Hendricks’ fourth career double-digit strikeout game.
• I think it’s safe to say that Javy Baez‘s struggles are behind him. He went 3-for-4 with two singles and a long home run to center that effectively ended the Rockies’ hopes of engineering a comeback.
• Carlos González went 1-for-3 with a double, a sacrifice fly, a run scored, and two runs driven in.

Bottom Line

The Cubs were able to defeat a hot Rockies team and it appears they are ready to string a few wins together. With the Brewers’ loss tonight, the Cubs moved back into first place by two-thousandths of a point.

On Deck

Yu Darvish looks to continue the Cubs’ great starting pitching performances, while Germán Márquez hopes to get the Rockies back to their winning ways. The 7:05pm CT start will be broadcast on WGN, MLB Network (out-of-market) and 670 The Score.