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Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (10-7, 2.22 ERA) is on fire, so the Athletics have their work cut out for them today. In year three, Hendricks has a career high of 10 wins on the season. He sports the best home ERA (1.19) in the majors. Joe Maddon says his four-seam fastball rises and leaves a lot of batters watching the called strike (Rick Eymer, MLB.com). Nonetheless, Khris Davis, Yonder Alonso and Danny Valencia have all seen success against Hendricks. Kyle Hendricks is a California kid who hails from Newport Beach, went to Dartmouth, was drafted in 2011 by the rangers in the 8th round (264 overall) and made his major league debut in July of 2014. In his last 7 games his is 5-1 with a 1.10 ERA. His last outing yielded a shutout against the Marlins on Monday, allowing 7 hits with 3 walks and five strikeouts.
Rookie Sean Manaea (3-6, 4.68 ERA) must be thrilled to take the hill against the Cubs. Having grown up in Indiana, he saw his very first Major League game at Wrigley Field. Sean is showing improvement as the season progresses, hailing a 1-2 record and a 3.14 ERA. One might not guess this after his last outing against the Angels--a difficult one where he gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits (including 2 homers), three walks and four strikeouts in 5 and 2/3rds.
