Hendricks outduels Strasburg as Cubs top Nats
WASHINGTON » Relying on precision rather than power, Kyle Hendricks pitched the Chicago Cubs to another winning start in October.
Hendricks outdueled Stephen Strasburg on the mound, and the Cubs opened defense of their first World Series title in 108 years by beating the Washington Nationals 3-0 Friday in Game 1 of their NL Division Series.
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo produced RBI singles in the sixth inning for the first two hits off an otherwise-dominant Strasburg. Hendricks was even better, giving up only two singles in seven strong innings.
“He’s unbelievable. The confidence — the quiet confidence he brings to the field — it wears on people,” Rizzo said. “Things don’t faze him.”
Rizzo added an RBI double off reliever Ryan Madson in the eighth. Carl Edwards Jr. threw a perfect inning and Wade Davis finished the two-hitter for a save.
Chicago also began last year’s postseason run with a shutout, beating San Francisco 1-0 behind Jon Lester.
Strasburg didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the sixth. Javier Baez reached on third baseman Anthony Rendon’s error to start the inning and was sacrificed to second by Hendricks. One out later, Bryant drove in the first run with a single to right-center and went to second when Bryce Harper missed the cutoff man.
The next batter, Rizzo, singled to right in front of a diving Harper to make it 2-0.