After an impressive win on Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs seemingly fell back to earth with a rough 10-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. With the bats quiet and Kyle Hendricks once again not on his game, it was a recipe for disaster.
Padres' starter Dylan Cease held the Cubs' lineup in check. The righty tossed six strong innings with seven strikeouts and no earned runs. He did his job, and so did San Diego's offense.
Jake Cronenworth and Jurickson Profar both hit home runs off of a struggling Hendricks in the same inning. It simply wasn't a pretty sight.
The Padres are home cookin'!
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 11, 2024
Jurickson Profar smokes the second homer of the inning for San Diego.
(via @Padres)pic.twitter.com/M7Ry86vGLp
Daniel Palencia and Jose Cuas pitched in relief of Hendricks, but they did little to silence the Padres' bats. With Cuas having serious struggles, it begs the question of whether a trip to Triple-A Iowa could be the trick to getting him right again.
Following another off night for Hendricks, the Cubs may have a dilemma regarding what to do with the veteran starter. While his fellow rotation mates continue to thrive, Hendricks hasn't had the best of luck.
Michael Busch accounted for the Cubs' only scoring via a two-run homer, and the team has to be excited about the early returns of the young left-handed hitter. He has made a great impression early in the 2024 season.
A Bussccchhhhhh pic.twitter.com/riqvAjyTZf
— Cubs On Tap (@CubbiesOnTap) April 10, 2024
While it looked to be the start of a comeback, the Cubs couldn't capitalize on Busch's long ball. Dansby Swanson and Mike Tauchman provided the Cubs' only other hits on the day.
The Cubs look to right the ship on their West Coast trip as they travel to face the Seattle Mariners for a three-game weekend series. Jordan Wicks will face off against Bryce Miller in Friday's series opener. First pitch is at time of 8:40 PM CT and the game will air on Apple TV+.
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