Kyle Hendricks Has Near No-Hitter, Joe West Ejects Joe Maddon In Cubs’ 4-1 Win Over Cardinals

Kyle Hendricks could easily become a strong Cy Young Award contender given his most recent performance.

Kyle Hendricks Has Near No-Hitter, Joe West Ejects Joe Maddon In Cubs’ 4-1 Win Over Cardinals

The Cubs right-hander threw eight no-hit innings on Monday night before giving up a leadoff homer to Jeremy Hazelbaker in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead Chicago to a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

With the win, Chicago is now just three victories away from clinching the National League Central.

“Unbelievably great,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Hendricks’ outing. “It’s unfortunate he did not get the no-hitter. They did not get good swings against him all night. He was in charge that entire game. It’s got to catapult him in the minds of people voting right now. That was spectacular.”

The loss prevented St. Louis from getting a chance to pass the Mets in the NL Wild Card race. With both teams losing on Monday, the Mets still hold a half-game lead for the second Wild Card race.

Home-plate umpire Joe West ejected Maddon in the bottom of the ninth after a heated argument about visiting the mound following Hazelbaker’s home run. It marked the third time Maddon has been tossed this season. The Cubs manager lasted long enough to pull Hendricks from the game.

“We needed a little more time to get [Aroldis Chapman] ready based on the situation,” Maddon said. “I needed the catcher to go out to the mound, that’s all. That’s it. That’s it. We were denied, and I didn’t like that, so I made my stand.”

As Aroldis Chapman warmed up in the bullpen, Cubs infielders set off for the mound to talk with Hendricks, but West intercepted them, and this angered Maddon.

Former Cubs right-handed pitcher Kerry Wood expressed his frustration with West on Twitter.

Wood sent a pair of tweets about West, using the hashtag #JoeShow and stating he has no desire to see the umpire in the playoffs:

‘He sucks,’ Wood also vehemently added.

Hendricks now leads all Major League pitchers with a 2.03 ERA. He struck out seven and has allowed three earned runs or less in each of his last 20 starts.

Hendricks faced the minimum over seven frames, although he did walk Yadier Molina with one out in the second. However, he also got Jedd Gyorko to hit into a double play and end that inning. Hendricks also walked Gyorko with two outs in the eighth.

“He made not many mistakes in the middle of the plate,” said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, whose team fell to 32-40 at home. “He was pushing the corners all day long. He’s been doing that most of the season. He doesn’t give a whole lot.”

Chicago’s defense backed up Hendricks, known as “The Professor,” including a great play by Jason Heyward, who dove into the right-field seats in the sixth to snag Hazelbaker’s foul ball.

Ben Zobrist entered Monday’s game hitless in his last three games, but that ended when he led off the Cubs’ second with his 15th home run, a solo smash that gave Chicago a 1-0 lead. According to Statcast, the ball had an exit velocity of 102.8 mph and traveled an estimated 422 feet, his longest of the season. He now has 15 homers, the most since he hit 20 with the Rays in 2012.

Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter exited the game after his back tightened up during a seventh-inning at-bat. Matheny received “good reports” from the medical staff after the game, an indication that the injury is not considered serious.

The two teams will face off again for the middle game of their three-game series at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night. Cubs (92-51, 1st in NL Central) right-hander Jason Hammel will make his 28th start of the season, while lefty Jaime Garcia will take the mound for the Cardinals (75-68, 2nd in NL Central).

ST. LOUIS, MO – SEPTEMBER 12: Starter Kyle Hendricks #28 of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning at Busch Stadium on September 12, 2016 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)