We are just over a week away from the start of the 2020 MLB season as the Chicago Cubs will host the Milwaukee Brewers on July 24th at Wrigley Field. It will be the first of a three-game series between the two teams in the shortened 60-game season we will have this Summer.
When the Cubs do take the field, class will officially be in session.
The club named Kyle Hendricks their 2020 Opening Day starter for next Friday vs. the Brewers:
Kyle Hendricks is our Opening Day starter.
Giddyup. pic.twitter.com/VfbesqgQrh
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 16, 2020
Hendricks gets the nod from new manager David Ross over Yu Darvish. It will be the first Opening Day nod for Hendricks in his career and the first time since 2016 that the club will have a Opening Day starter that wasn’t Jon Lester.
Ross did hint in Spring Training that the job would go to Hendricks or Darvish for Opening Day but that was before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and delayed things. The manager did stick to that thought however, a few months later.
With Hendricks being the No. 1, the Cubs will turn to Darvish as the No. 2 and then Lester as the No. 3 in their rotation. After that, it gets a little dicey with Jose Quintana battling a thumb injury.
In his career vs. Milwaukee Hendricks has posted a 3.08 ERA in 119.2 IP. He has a 22.4% strikeout rate and a 5.1% walk rate, per BleacherNation.
Getting off to a great start will be key in this shortened season as you don’t want to fall too far behind early on and have a lot of ground to make up in August and September.
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