Chicago (28-36). 001 120 000 – 4. 5 0

San Francisco (32-32). 000 000 000 – 0 1. 0

Time: 2:13.

Attendance: 35,452

Saturday, June 10, 2023

By Lewis Rubman

SAN FRANCISCO–Gabe Kapler and his brains trust decided to make this afternoon’s 4:30 encounter between the struggling Cubs and the hot and cold Giants a bullpen game. They chose middle and late inning reliever John Brebbia as their opener for the sixth time in 2023 and then moving on to Jakob Junis after Brebbia had given them two perfect frames. Sean Manaea followed him with one on two down in the fifth.

David Ross and his staff sent right handed starter Kyle Hendricks and his 0-2, 4.70 record to the mound. He took a no hitter into the eighth inning, allowing only a second inning walk to Michael Conforto before Mitch Haniger drove an 89 mph four seamer 378 feet deep into left field for a double.

He died on second, and in. the end, San Francisco lost, 4-0, leaving them flat footed at 32-32 for the season. Hendricks ended up pitching eight innings, shutting out the Giants one one hit and no base on. balls. He threw 94 pitches, 61 for strikes, and earned the win, upping his won-lost record to 1-2and lowering his ERA to 3.09. Julian Merryweather set the Giants down in order in the ninth.

Chicago got the first hit and the first run of the game. They came on Matt Mervis’s lead off home run to right on Junis’s third offering. Christopher Morel doubled the Cubs’ advantage in the fourth with another lead off homer, this one off the Levi’s Landing wall beneath the right field fence.

They doubled that lead an inning later on a walk to Nick Madrigal, Mike Tauchman’s double that fell just fair in left, and Morel’s seeing eye single up that middle that drove Junis from the box, relieved by Manaea, who got the third out. By then, the Northsiders were up, 4–0.

Junis was the losing pitcher. His. record now stands at 3-3, 4.58.

San Francisco hasn’t yet named their starting pitcher for tomorrow, Sunday’s, 1:05 game. Whoever he is, he will go against right hander Ryan Wesneski (2-2, 4.72)