Kyle Hendricks shattered his career high on Saturday with 12 strikeouts and became just the second Chicago Cubs pitcher in the live-ball era (since 1920) to have a dozen strikeouts in an outing of six innings or less that he won. Kerry Wood did it in a 14-strikeout game against the Giants on April 27, 2001.
The Cubs also tied their season high on Saturday with five home runs, one of those by catcher prospect Willson Contreras, who pinch-hit in the pitcher's spot in the sixth inning. Four days later, as a defensive replacement, his seventh-inning shot provided both Cubs runs in Wednesday's finale against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Contreras is the fourth player in Cubs history whose first two career homers both came in games he did not start. Bobby Scales (who hit only three homers total) pulled that off in 2009, as did Gary Matthews Jr. in 2000. Before that, it had been done only once in team history, by Charles "Chick" Tolson across the 1926 and 1927 seasons.
Gerardo Concepcion made his major league debut on Tuesday, retiring all four Cardinals he faced with two strikeouts. That made him the first Cubs pitcher in more than half a century to work more than one inning in his first game and not allow any baserunners. Gene Fodge made only 16 appearances for the Cubs, but he retired all six batters in his debut-- also against the Cardinals at Wrigley-- on Apr. 20, 1958.
Concepcion is notable for one other quirk: He is just the 13th known player in major league history born on Leap Day, February 29. The last active player born on that day was outfielder Terrence Long, who played his final game for the Yankees in June 2006, and Concepcion is only the second of that group to play for the Cubs. Pitcher Bill Long (no relation) spent time on both ends of the Red Line, throwing his last game for the North Siders on Sept. 28, 1990.
The Cubs' three losses to the Cardinals this week marked the first time St. Louis had swept a three-game series at Wrigley since May 1988. Heading into Thursday's opener in Miami, the Cubs are the only team in the National League not to have a four-game losing streak this season.