Hendricks looking for answers after rough start to season

SAN DIEGO -- Win or lose, Kyle Hendricks is predictably stoic when he discusses his outings after a game. On Wednesday evening, the Cubs veteran broke from his typical demeanor, given his escalating frustration over his performance out of the chute this season.

In the wake of a 10-2 loss to the Padres, who struck for seven runs against Hendricks, the pitcher’s voice shook at times as he held himself accountable. For the last remaining member of the Cubs’ World Series roster, even a three-start stumble out of the blocks is an unacceptable sample for a team with October aspirations.

“I’m not being who I am normally,” Hendricks said. “So, a lot of reevaluation. I’m just pissed. I’m letting my guys down. Bottom line.”

Over the course of his 11 seasons in a Cubs uniform, Hendricks has had plenty of small-sample dips in production. He has shown over the years that once he locks into his mechanics, what follows is often a rhythmic run of strong starts that can carry him through weeks or even months of consistency.

Hendricks entered Wednesday’s outing with a 5.17 ERA in 35 career regular-season starts in March or April. Even when he won the National League ERA title during the 2016 season with a 2.13 mark, the righty opened with a 3.91 ERA in April. Hendricks usually tends to build a personal momentum in the season’s middle months.

As a pitcher who relies on precision over power, Hendricks has also become in-tune with his delivery and developed a strong reputation for reading swings and deciphering an opposing offense’s approach. When something goes awry, he has an internal database that has allowed him to course correct quickly.

Hendricks was asked Wednesday if he knew where to start that process this time.

“Not exactly, no. I can't lie about that. I would have been doing it now,” Hendricks said. “So, a little bit of a search process, for sure. I know who I am, though. At the end of the day, I know what my strengths are. I just have to hone in on those, lock in on that, start with that.”

Cubs manager Craig Counsell felt Hendricks was pitching decently enough through the first five innings on Wednesday. San Diego used a “dink and dunk formula,” using Counsell’s description, to strike for two runs in the second. In the fourth, the hard-hit rate began to tick up in another two-run outburst, which came shortly after Cubs rookie Michael Busch belted a homer to pull the game into a 2-2 deadlock.

“I was making a lot of good pitches [early],” Hendricks said. “We go out and get two, tie it right back up, and then I go out and make three bad pitches, let them right back in the game. That just can't happen.”

Hendricks’ afternoon came to an abrupt end in the sixth, when Jake Cronenworth launched a changeup out to right for a leadoff homer, and Jurickson Profar followed two batters later with a two-run blast on an elevated four-seamer.

For the first time in his career, the Cubs starter had surrendered at least five runs in three consecutive appearances. The 17 runs Hendricks has allowed so far this season are his second-most allowed in a three-game stretch in his career. He allowed 18 over three outings from Aug. 23-Sept. 4, 2021.

Counsell was asked if the issue leaned more toward pitch sequencing or execution.

“It's probably a little bit of everything,” the manager said. “It's the third time through, which is always the most challenging time for a starting pitcher. And it's what's kind of got him so far.”

Hendricks also pointed to the issue of predictability.

Dating back to early last season, Hendricks has been calling his own pitches via the PitchCom system. Prior to each pitch, the veteran will reach to the device on his belt, inputting his choice and signaling to his catcher what is coming next. Hendricks admitted that he may have to relinquish some of that control under the circumstances.

“That's already been in the discussions, too,” Hendricks said. “Even if I am calling stuff, have them giving me more feedback. If they really want something, and they see me -- if I'm getting predictable -- yeah, help me out some more there. It needs to be, definitely, a better relationship there and not all on me.

“I'm just not where I need to be right now to be doing that, for sure.”