Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks received plenty of run support Thursday in Pittsburgh, but did not perform well enough to earn a second straight win. In fact, he did not perform well enough to win the rest of the year.
Hendricks went only three innings, surrendering six hits and four earned runs. He fanned five and hit a batter in the no-decision.
After a three-start stretch in which he managed to avoid giving up the long ball, Hendricks promptly surrendered three round-trippers over the second and third innings. The only saving grace was that two were of the solo variety, but the homers and a hit batsman all contributed to him getting pulled after only 63 pitches.
The pitch count was the second-lowest total of the season for Hendricks in a start, and his exit after three frames was the quickest he'd been yanked in 2015. One somewhat surprising positive for Hendricks coming out of this abbreviated appearance was the absence of free passes, the first time since a July 10 start against the White Sox that he managed to not give up at least one walk.
