Hendricks Throws One-Hitter, Cubs Beat Cardinals

BY ESPN

Kyle Hendricks was so good Monday night he even surprised himself.

The right-hander took a no-hitter into the ninth inning before giving up Jeremy Hazelbaker's leadoff home run, and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-1 to close in on the NL Central crown.

"I never thought I'd get that close to one," Hendricks said. "A guy who throws to contact and doesn't throw hard, you don't think about it. You can run into one of those special days and you think, why not?

"My pregame bullpen was probably the worst I've had all year. Hopefully it clicks once the game starts, and it did."

All the way until the ninth inning.

Hazelbaker drove an 0-2 pitch into the right-field stands for his 12th homer before Hendricks (15-7), the major league ERA leader at 2.03, was relieved by Aroldis Chapman.

"If you're going to give it up, at least it's that way and not a cheap hit," Hendricks said. "I just left the ball up and he got it. It was just a changeup and I wanted to throw it in the dirt and get him to chase."

Hazelbaker was looking for a changeup.

"I wasn't surprised by it," he said. "He'd been throwing that pitch all night. It was a good pitch he threw me. I was able to handle it like I wanted to."

Ben Zobrist and Dexter Fowler homered for the Cubs, who lowered their magic number to three for clinching the division crown. They lead the second-place Cardinals by 17 games and can wrap up the NL Central with a three-game sweep in St. Louis.

The Cardinals remained a half-game behind the Mets for the league's second wild card. New York lost 8-1 at Washington.

Soon after Hazelbaker's shot cleared the fence, teammates went to the mound to talk to Hendricks -- leading to an animated argument between Cubs manager Joe Maddon and plate umpire Joe West.

Maddon was ejected for the third time this season, and Chapman entered to finish the one-hitter. He got three outs for his 14th save with Chicago, and is 34 for 37 overall this year with the Cubs and Yankees.

After the pitching change, Maddon argued some more with West before leaving.

"It was a misinterpretation there," Maddon said. "We needed more time there. I needed the catcher to go to the mound. We were denied. I made my stand.

"I truly believe I was proper in that, but this is not about that. This is Kyle's night."

Hendricks, who threw 96 pitches, struck out seven and walked two.

"Pretty special night all around," he said. "It was fun, man."

It was the fourth no-hit bid broken up in the ninth inning this season. Cubs teammate Jake Arrieta tossed the lone no-hitter in the majors this year, winning 16-0 at Cincinnati on April 21.

White Sox 11, Indians 4

Todd Frazier and the Chicago White Sox got into such a groove at the plate that no one seemed to notice their rare offensive achievement until after the runaway victory.

Frazier, Avisail Garcia and Adam Eaton homered, and the White Sox scored in every inning of an 11-4 win over the sloppy Cleveland Indians on Monday night.

"I didn't know we scored in every inning, to be honest with you. That's pretty cool," Frazier said.

Frazier capped the scoring with his career-best 36th homer in the eighth, a two-run drive to left-center. Garcia, who matched a career high with four hits, hit a tiebreaking solo drive in the fourth for his 11th homer. Eaton drove Zach McAllister's first pitch over the wall in right in the sixth, powering the White Sox to a 7-3 lead with his 13th of the year.

It was the first time Chicago had scored in every inning since a 12-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox on May 11, 1949, according to STATS.

"I didn't even notice that. But yeah, I think you're going to win a few ballgames if you score in every inning," Eaton cracked.

Cleveland's lead in the AL Central was trimmed to six games over Detroit, which rallied for a 4-2 victory over Minnesota. The Indians had won eight of their last nine against the White Sox, but Lonnie Chisenhall misplayed two balls in right field and another run scored on a passed ball by Roberto Perez.

Monday, September 12 Scoreboard

Los Angeles Dodgers 8, New York Yankees 2

Washington 8, New York Mets 1

Philadelphia 6, Pittsburgh 2

Toronto 3, Tampa Bay 2

Boston 12, Baltimore 2

Detroit 4, Minnesota 2

Atlanta 12, Miami 7    

Cincinnati 3, Milwaukee 0

Oakland 16, Kansas City 3

Chicago White Sox 11, Cleveland 4

Texas 4, Houston 3 (F/12)

Chicago Cubs 4, St. Louis 1

Arizona 12, Colorado 9

Seattle 8, Los Angeles Angels 1

San Diego 4, San Francisco 0

Tuesday, September 13 Schedule (All Times Central)

Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Yankees, 6 p.m.

New York Mets at Washington, 6:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 6:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Toronto, 6:07 p.m.

Baltimore at Boston, 6:10 p.m.

Minnesota at Detroit, 6:10 p.m.

Miami at Atlanta, 6:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 6:10 p.m.

Oakland at Kansas City, 6:15 p.m.

Cleveland at Chicago White Sox, 7:10 p.m.

Texas at Houston, 7:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at St. Louis, 7:15 p.m.

Colorado at Arizona, 8:40 p.m.

Seattle at Los Angeles Angels, 9:05 p.m.

San Diego at San Francisco, 9:15 p.m.