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Vintage Kyle Hendricks shows up to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 3-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals

ST. LOUIS — There’s no question Kyle Hendricks has suffered through some difficult starts in 2022, his second straight subpar season with the Chicago Cubs.Hendricks came into Friday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals having allowed six runs or more in four of his 13 starts, leading to a bloated earned-run average of 5.43. It’s not the Hendricks the Cubs have come to expect, though it’s also not the same kind of contending team he has enjoyed playing for during the bulk of his career.AdvertisementBut Cubs fans got a glimpse of vintage Hendricks on Friday night at Busch Stadium, and it was every bit as good as they remembered.Hendricks tossed 7 ⅓ shutout innings in a 3-0 victory before 46,524, the largest crowd of the season at Busch.AdvertisementCubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks delivers during the first inning against the Cardinals on Friday in St. Louis. Hendricks gave up five hits in 7 1/3 shutout innings of a 3-0 Cubs victory. (Jeff Roberson / AP)The Cubs won for only the fifth time in 19 games, silencing the first-place Cardinals in the opener of their first series of the season in St. Louis.Hendricks allowed five hits while striking out six and walking one in a 91-pitch outing, improving to 3-6. Chris Martin and David Robertson finished if off, with Robertson collecting his ninth save in 12 opportunities.Hendricks allowed only two base runners in the first five innings. Juan Yepez singled with two outs in the second but was thrown out at second to end the inning. Paul Goldschmidt walked with two outs in the fifth before Hendricks retired Brendan Donovan on a fly to center.After Dylan Carlson singled to open the eighth and Harrison Bader doubled, Hendricks struck out pinch hitter Lars Nootbar before being replaced by Martin. The Cubs reliever induced a comebacker to the mound and a soft liner to short to strand the runners.The Cubs scored their runs on Nico Hoerner’s two-run homer in the second off rookie Andre Pallante and Ian Happ’s RBI double in the fifth. Happ came into the night with a .367 average in his previous 22 games, quietly emerging as the co-leader of the offense along with Willson Contreras.Cubs shortstop Nico Hoerner rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the second inning against the Cardinals on Friday in St. Louis. (Jeff Roberson / AP)Manager David Ross before the game said Happ has proved he’s an “All-Star caliber” player.“Ian has been our All-Star, he and Willson,” Ross said. “Those guys have really stood out above the rest for us. It’s nice to see the veteran guys play that consistently.”

Sports

Chicago Cubs DFA Jonathan Villar to make room for David Bote’s return from offseason shoulder surgery

ST. LOUIS — When the lockout ended and Chicago Cubs President Jed Hoyer began filling out the roster with veterans on one-year deals, the working theory was he would try to flip most of them for a prospect or two at the trade deadline.That sign-and-flip strategy worked well for Theo Epstein during the original rebuild with players such as Paul Maholm, Scott Feldman, Jason Hammel and others bringing back younger talent in trades including Jake Arrieta, Pedro Strop and Addison Russell.AdvertisementHoyer signed Andrelton Simmons, Mychal Givens, Daniel Norris, David Robertson, Robert Gsellman, Jonathan Villar, Clint Frazier, Drew Smyly and others in the spring, keeping the payroll low and hoping for the best.But in the rebuild that’s not a rebuild, the sign-and-flip has so far become the sign-and-flop.AdvertisementOnly Robertson has put up good enough numbers to bring back some quality in return, and three of the veterans already have been designated for assignment.Gsellman and Frazier were DFA’d earlier this month, eventually cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Iowa. On Friday it was Villar who was DFA’d shortly after seeing his name in the Cubs starting lineup for the opener of a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.Villar, 31, signed a one-year, $6 million deal with a mutual option for $4.5 million for 2023. He’ll be paid an estimated $3.4 million of his remaining ‘22 salary if the Cubs don’t find a taker. Villar hit .222 in 46 games with two home runs and 15 RBIs and only .175 in June after being on the injured list with a mouth injury from a freak training accident.Villar’s roster spot was made vulnerable because of the return of infielder David Bote, who had left shoulder surgery after the 2021 season and recently was sidelined during a rehab stint at Iowa with what was described a dizziness.Cubs infielder David Bote rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Rockies on Aug. 25, 2021, at Wrigley Field. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)Manager David Ross said Bote would get a chance to play regularly — he started at second base Friday, batting seventh. Second baseman Nick Madrigal is on the IL with a groin injury.“He’ll play second base a lot, and I think he’ll give Patrick (Wisdom) a breather at third every once in a while,” Ross said of Bote. “We haven’t really had a lot of bodies to fill that role, and ‘Wis’ has been dealing with … well, everybody is dealing with a little stuff when you play every day.”Christopher Morel appears to be solidifying a spot in center field after being moved around when he came up from Double-A Tennessee, though Ross said the rookie is still an option at third. Morel recently said he feels most comfortable at third base but is willing to play anywhere.Bote declined to elaborate on his dizzy spells at Iowa but said he lost 20 pounds or so from last season and couldn’t keep his weight up.Advertisement“We’re still trying to figure out what the exact cause of the thing is,” he said. “It was just one of those things where I was losing a bunch of weight fast. I couldn’t keep any weight on. I was nauseous and dizzy and just wanted to make sure nothing was seriously going wrong, especially for as long as it had been going on. … There was like 48 hours straight where I just laid in bed. I couldn’t do anything.”Bote, 29, who signed a five-year, $15 million extension in 2019 with two team-option years, said he felt “goose bumps” returning to the field Friday after so much time away. He hit .200 in 2020 and .199 last season but said he made some tweaks to his approach and feels more comfortable at the plate.What kind of tweaks?“It’s all baseball,” Bote said, declining to offer specifics.While Bote was searching for answers to the cause of his dizzy spells, so too was Cubs bullpen coach Chris Young, who was hospitalized Thursday in Pittsburgh after feeling lightheaded in the pen. Young said Friday that he was fine until the moment of his health issue early in the game.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“I was dapping up all the relievers and felt great and sat down and (said) ‘I don’t feel great,’ ” he said. “Then 60 seconds later, (I knew) I needed a little bit of help.”AdvertisementYoung said he was well-hydrated and wasn’t suffering from heat exhaustion. On Friday he still had no idea what had happened.“I just got really hot and had some hives and some things that were tough,” he said. “I’ve talked to our doctor and he’s incredible. We don’t really have a working theory. … Thank goodness it happened (at the park) and (trainers PJ Mainville and Nick Frangella) were there to take care of it.”Ross said Young came up to him in the dugout late in Thursday’s game after returning from the hospital.“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Young told Ross.But Ross added it was a “scary feeling” Thursday not knowing “what’s going on in that moment.”Fortunately Young was OK and back dapping again Friday in the Cubs bullpen.

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On the cover: photo illustration by Dylan Bragassa. For more of Bragassa’s work, go here. This is the first time we’ve done a summer theater and…

Sports

‘Hot as a pistol’: 3 standout numbers that led to prospect Lenyn Sosa’s promotion to the Chicago White Sox

Lenyn Sosa called his mother and father after finding out he was being promoted to the Chicago White Sox.“They started crying,” the infielder told reporters through an interpreter Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field.AdvertisementThe prospect made the jump from Double A to the big leagues earlier in the day.The Sox were in immediate need of infield depth with Danny Mendick lost for the season after he tore the ACL in his right knee, an injury suffered Wednesday in an outfield collision with Adam Haseley. They’ve been without starting third baseman Yoán Moncada, who is on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Saturday with a strained right hamstring.AdvertisementWhite Sox infielder Lenyn Sosa fouls off a ball in the ninth inning against the Orioles on Thursday at Guaranteed Rate Field. Making his major-league debut, Sosa went 0-for-1 with a walk after entering the game for the injured Josh Harrison in the sixth inning. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)Starting second baseman Josh Harrison was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fifth of Thursday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles and exited the next inning with a bruised right triceps. That led to Sosa’s debut.Sosa struck out in his first major-league at-bat in the seventh and drew a walk in the ninth in an impressive nine-pitch plate appearance.“(The) first time he punched out, but that second at-bat was clutch,” Sox manager Tony La Russa told reporters before Friday’s game against the Orioles. “It helped us prolong a rally. It was really good for him.”Sosa had a .331/.384/.549 slash line in 62 games for Double-A Birmingham. He led the Southern League in several offensive categories, including batting average.The 22-year-old, who is from Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, entered 2022 ranked as the No. 17 prospect in the Sox system by Baseball America and at No. 22 according to MLB.com. He signed with the Sox as an international free agent on July 2, 2016.“I know he’s been working hard and I know he’s been doing what he has to do in the minor leagues,” Sox catcher Seby Zavala told reporters after Thursday’s game. “He had a good at-bat in that last inning and hopefully can build off of it and have a long career.”Here are three more numbers of note that led to Sosa’s promotion.General manager Rick Hahn discussed Sosa earlier this month, saying he “has been hot as a pistol.”AdvertisementThe right-handed hitter was named Southern League Player of the Month for May after slashing .351/.388/.649 (39-for-111) with eight home runs, 26 RBIs and 22 runs in 26 games.According to MiLB.com, Sosa’s 39 hits tied San Jose’s Vaun Brown for the most in minor-league baseball in the month. Sosa did so while having 11 multihit games, and he had a 16-game hitting streak from May 4–21.Sosa led the league in runs, RBIs, total bases (72) and triples (two) in the month. He was second in home runs and slugging percentage, third in average and sixth in OPS (1.037).Sosa began playing in the Sox organization in 2017. He has displayed more power with each season.He had 11 home runs in 115 games in 2021 between Class A Winston-Salem (10) and Birmingham (1). He hit 14 in 62 games with the Barons this season, tied for fourth in the Southern League.Asked if he knew he could hit for that type of power, Sosa said: “I wasn’t certain about that. But I worked a lot on that during the offseason, lifting weights, doing agility drills, trying to strengthen my body to be able to hit the ball harder.Advertisement“I’m not surprised with the results.”Sosa’s .549 slugging percentage ranks third in the Southern League.Sosa singled in the first inning of a May 20 game against the Rocket City Trash Pandas. It was the start of a very productive day that ended with four hits — three singles and a home run.Sosa leads the Southern League with 85 hits, 48 RBIs and 47 runs.Those totals added up to this opportunity with the big-league Sox.“All the hard work that I’ve put in day in and day out since I started playing baseball has now come to fruition,” Sosa said.

Sports

Dick’s Sporting Goods goes to bat for its employees on abortion issue

Anyone who though the nation’s biggest sports store was going to sit out one of America’s most contentious moments doesn’t know Dick’s.Dick’s Sporting Goods went to bat for its employees following Friday Supreme Court’s ruling to strike down abortion rights. The bold move knocked stock prices out of the ballpark.Advertisement“Dear teammates,” begins an open letter from company chairman Ed Stack and CEO Lauren Hobart. “You are the heart of our business, and we are committed to protecting your health and well-being.”The Supreme Court announced Friday that it would reverse legislation that made abortion rights the law of the land nearly 50 years ago. The 6-3 ruling passes the issue of reproductive freedoms to each state, where in many places, abortions are expected to banned. The letter from Dick’s notes it isn’t immediately clear how that would effect its reported 50,000 employees nationwide, but vowed to provide its workers with “consistent and safe access” to benefits it provides.AdvertisementA sign for Dick’s Sporting Goods store is displayed at the store in Madison, Miss. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)“In response to today’s ruling, we are announcing that if the state you live in restricts access to abortion, Dick’s Sporting Goods will provide up to $4,000 in travel expense reimbursements to travel to the nearest location where that care is legally available,” the company said.The offer is extended to any “teammate,” spouse or dependent enrolled in the nation’s largest sporting goods store’s health care plan.Dick’s acknowledged some of its workers may not agree with the company’s decision, but described family health care services as a personal matter.[ Dick’s Sporting Goods to pull hunting rifles from 125 stores ]Predictable, internet trolls lashed out on Twitter they wouldn’t be shopping at Dick’s. Those conservatives were reminded that right-wingers also vowed to boycott the store in 2019 when it stopped selling military-style weapons and required all firearm purchasers to be at least 21 years of age following a Parkland, Fla., school shootingOthers shoppers tweeted they would make a point of loading up on sporting goods at one of the 74-year-old store’s roughly 850 locations as soon as possible to show their support.Wall Street sided with the latter group Friday afternoon as the company’s stock price shot up nearly 10% in midday trading.