Chicago baseball report: Hendricks a ‘stabilizing presence’ for Cubs; tracking Sox’s road to 100 losses

As they occupy the bottom of the National League Central standings, their schedule isn’t getting easier to mount a comeback from a 10½-game deficit behind the first-place Brewers. As they head to Milwaukee for a three-game weekend series, the Cubs will be challenged to win series leading into the four-day All-Star break that begins July 15. After facing the Brewers, three of their four remaining series before the layoff come against the Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals.

The White Sox just saw the first-place team in National League West, getting swept — and shut out twice — in the three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Guaranteed Rate Field. Now, they’ll see the division’s last-place team with three home games this weekend against the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies have the second-worst run differential in baseball at minus-133. The Sox are last at minus-171.

Every Friday during the regular season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Cubs and White Sox. Want more? Sign up for our new newsletters.

As Kyle Hendricks reaches 10 years of service time, teammates marvel at his journey

Hendricks was only six months removed from starting Game 7 in the World Series to help the Cubs secure their first title in 108 years when Ian Happ reached the majors.

Hendricks was entering only his fourth big-league season in 2017, but his teammates already viewed him as a veteran on the staff despite being just a couple of years into his career.

“He’s always kind of been that stabilizing presence for us and somebody who’s been here through everything,” Happ told the Tribune. “He always appreciated the fact that he took from the veteran guys that he came up with and really put in the best process from all of them to make himself the best version of who he is.”

As Hendricks reached 10 years of MLB service time, becoming one of less than 10% of big-leaguers to accomplish the feat, the Cubs celebrated him during a team gathering in the clubhouse before Wednesday’s game.

David Bote has played alongside Hendricks for parts of six seasons. Watching him from the dugout Tuesday night as Hendricks, 34, methodically shut down the Giants over seven innings was representative of the artful way the right-hander has been effective over the years. Bote called him a true joy to watch.

“Is it too cliché to say it’s a product of steadiness?” Bote told the Tribune of Hendricks’ milestone. “The amount of work he puts in on a daily basis to the true joy he has pitching, nobody should be surprised. … It’s a credit to his work and his ability to adapt and make adjustments.”

The path to 10 years included overcoming his struggles at the beginning of the season that led to Hendricks being temporarily moved to the bullpen. He has given the Cubs what they’ve needed in his last two starts since moving back to the rotation, providing valuable experience for a banged-up staff.

Hendricks became the fourth player in Cubs history to have 10-plus years of major-league service time all with the organization, joining Ernie Banks, Stan Hack and Cap Anson.

“When he was struggling, I said many times, ‘Bet on Kyle to figure it out,’ ” right-hander Jameson Taillon said to the Tribune. “He’s too smart, he’s got too much of the discipline to show up every day and do the right thing. … He’s not going to be fueled by proving people wrong. He’s just so process-oriented. He’s an interesting dude to watch on a daily basis.”

A healthy Justin Anderson is ‘grateful’ for White Sox opportunity

Manager Pedro Grifol recently asked the Sox reliever what he saw while displaying a workload sheet.

Grifol said Anderson responded, “A lot of work,” to which Grifol replied, “The more you work, the better you get.”

Anderson has a 4.00 ERA in 19 outings but has not allowed a run in his last nine appearances, including a hitless inning Thursday in a 1-0 victory against the Atlanta Braves. The 31-year-old right-hander continues to make strides in his first season back in the big leagues since 2019.

“It’s more so the fact of knowing I could find my way back, I just needed to be healthy,” Anderson told the Tribune this week.

He spent 2018-19 with the Los Angeles Angels, with whom he had at least 54 relief outings in both seasons.

Anderson underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2020 after suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament while pitching in an intrasquad game during summer camp and spent most of 2021 recovering, pitching in 13 games in the minors.

He was limited to three appearances in Triple A in 2022 after suffering a right shoulder strain that April. Last season Anderson had 24 outings across three minor-league stops after signing with the Kansas City Royals organization.

He began 2024 with Triple-A Charlotte and made his first appearance with the Sox on April 12.

“Last year, looking back toward this year, the amount of things we’re thankful and grateful for, I don’t even know how to compare it,” Anderson said. “Every day, we’re thankful for the opportunity to have a jersey on.”

He has been up and down between the majors and Triple A a few times this season but has found a groove recently. He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless relief innings Monday against the Dodgers and had one more scoreless inning the next night.

“He missed a lot of time and you can see improvement every time out, and it’s repeating in a game, it’s not the same as repeating in the bullpen,” Grifol said. “The more he gets out there the better he’ll be.

“This guy has done it before in the back end of a pen for (the Angels). He’s got good stuff.”

The Sox are 7-for-54 (.130) with runners in scoring position during their last 10 games. That stretch includes going 0-for-17 in the three games against the Dodgers and 0-for-4 on Thursday against the Braves.

The Sox, who snapped a four-game skid Thursday, have lost 31 of their last 39 and are off to their worst 83-game start in franchise history. The previous mark of 27-56 was set in 1948.

After being swept by the Dodgers, the Sox dropped to 0-11-1 in their last 12 series and to 40 games under .500 for the first time this season. Their victory against the Braves on Thursday — which was a makeup game from an April 3 rainout — gave them the series win 2-1.

As the Cubs struggle to build momentum, they have seen important develop from some of their top prospects.

After a tough first full season of pro ball, infielder Cristian Hernández is repeating Low A Myrtle Beach and showing a much-needed step forward offensively. Hernández, who doesn’t turn 21 until December, owns a .285/.401/.427 slash line and career-high .827 OPS. He already has exceeded the 19 extra-base hits he tallied in 431 plate appearances in 2023, producing 15 doubles, three triples and four home runs in 277 PAs.

“Some guys just need a little bit time to adjust to full-season baseball, especially with no more short season, guys are thrust into full season a little bit sooner,” assistant general manager Jared Banner said. “Their lifestyle’s change: playing at night, first time being on your own. So sometimes a little bit of an adjustment is made.

“He’s getting to his power more consistently. His defense has been amazing. His baserunning has been much improved. … He’s impacting the game in a lot of ways.”

Owen Caissie’s stellar season is finally seeing an uptick in home run production. He has hit five of his seven home runs in June, and while his average and on-base percentage have decreased from previous months in that span, tapping into his power is important. The lack of home runs through the first two months didn’t cause Caissie to deviate from his approach, still putting up a .425 OBP and .882 OPS.

“Owen’s been a really productive hitter for a long time now, he’s a really good hitter,” Banner said. “Hitters hit.”

The Guardians have the second-best winning percentage in the American League at .646. The Sox have the worst in the majors at .265.

Yet the Sox hold the lead in the season series between the teams, having won four of the first seven meetings. That included taking three of four during the most recent series, May 9-12 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The Guardians were without left fielder Steven Kwan during those four games. He’s hitting .377 in 52 games this season, including .400 during June.

“You’ve heard us say it all the time you try and separate the days and treat each game for what it is and I think we’ve done a decent job with that on the mental side.” — Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner on all the close games they’ve played