In stretch full of opportunity, Cubs drop series opener to Sox

CHICAGO -- It's not hard to see the opportunity in front of the Cubs over the next two weeks -- with four consecutive series against teams struggling in the standings.

But let them tell you, they are not taking anyone lightly as they look to continue their charge in the National League postseason race.

“The best way to look at things is the internal part,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said before Tuesday’s 5-3 loss to the White Sox. “Everyone is a big leaguer. It doesn't matter what team; it doesn’t matter what our record is. Anyone can beat anyone on any given night.

“We know and understand that, and I think that for us, we’ve just got to go out and continue to put our best foot forward.”

Tuesday’s crosstown battle was the first in a 12-game stretch in which the Cubs will play teams under .500 (White Sox, Royals, Tigers and Pirates). Entering Tuesday, those teams held a combined record of 192-284 -- a .403 winning percentage.

Conversely, the NL Central-leading Brewers, over that stretch, are scheduled to play 11 games against the NL West-leading Dodgers, AL West-leading Rangers, AL Central-leading Twins and the Padres. Those teams entered Tuesday with a combined 260-215 (.547 winning percentage) record.

It’s a chance for the Cubs to make up ground in the division, and with Milwaukee’s loss to Los Angeles, the Cubs are still 3 1/2 games back. After the current 12-game stretch, they’ll welcome the Brewers to Wrigley Field for three games.

“It’s the big leagues,” Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks said. "These guys are all great players, man, and all great teams. Everybody's playing good right now. No matter who comes in -- we've been playing good against the good teams. We’ve got to take care of the other business too.

“There’s no bad teams in this league, no bad hitters either. We’ve got to show up every single day, regardless of opponent, and focus on our brand of baseball and play the best brand that we can.”

The Cubs fell behind early Tuesday, with Hendricks suffering some tough luck in the first few innings. The White Sox led 1-0 after the first inning and 3-2 after the second.

Hendricks threw six innings and allowed seven hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Five hits came in the first and second innings, and the highest exit velocity in those two was 93.7 mph. The average exit velocity against Hendricks was 74.6 mph.

“A little bit of a battle there early, obviously,” Hendricks said. “Got in some jams. But overall, a lot of good pitches. Maybe needed to make some adjustments a little quicker. Yan [Gomes] was huge with that between the second and third, and then third to fourth.

“We saw some things and were able to go to some other stuff that really just opened up more of the plate for me.”

Hendricks pinpointed two big hits off him; Elvis Andrus hit a two-run single in the second, on an 82-mph changeup down and in. Yoán Moncada hit a one-out, 81.2 mph changeup down and away in the third for a double.

The Cubs' offense tallied five hits, including a two-run homer by Ian Happ in the first and solo shot by Seiya Suzuki in the fourth that accounted for their three runs. They went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left six on base.

A crowd of 40,389 Cubs and White Sox fans packed Wrigley Field, creating a lively atmosphere that is to be expected during Chicago’s crosstown series. At different points, chants of “Let’s Go Cubbies" and "Let’s Go White Sox" broke out.

“These games are always going to be big, for the city and everything,” said Hendricks, who passed Hippo Vaughn for eighth in franchise history in strikeouts on Tuesday. “This is bragging rights for the rest of the year -- for the whole city, for those fans.”

And whether it’s a White Sox team under .500, another sub-.500 team or otherwise, the Cubs know what they have to do the rest of the way.

“We're not taking anyone lightly,” Hendricks continued. “Everyone that comes in here, we know we’ve got to win every game. We’ve got to come into the ballpark every day, putting our best chance forward to win no matter who the opponent is.

“We’ve just got to focus on our game that we're playing. That's what we did today. We were right in it, just didn't work out. That's baseball. We'll do it again tomorrow and hopefully come out on the right side.”