Chicago Cubs Starting Struggling Veteran For Important Finale After IL Stint

The Chicago Cubs will turn to one of their veterans on Sunday in the important finale against their division rivals.

Apr 21, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks (28) / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

It was a wild game on Saturday that was preceded by tons of anticipation with baseball's top pitching prospect, Paul Skenes, making his Major League debut against the Chicago Cubs.

He looked good until the game was blown wide open after he left. The Cubs took the lead in the top of the fifth inning before handing it away in the bottom half of the frame to ultimately lose 10-9.

Heading into Sunday's matchup, it's an important one as this will decide the winner of the series.

There was already some speculation revolving around who would be handed the ball after their starting pitcher announcement listed Sunday's starter as TBD despite it being Jameson Taillon's expected spot.

Now, there's a bit more clarity on the situation.

Chicago announced they will start veteran Kyle Hendricks after activating him off the injured list. In a corresponding move, they are optioning reliever Jose Cuas to Triple-A.

Manager Craig Counsell discussed this decision and why they decided to roll with the struggling Hendricks instead of Taillon.

According to Meghan Montemurro of The Chicago-Tribune, the skipper said "we don't feel comfortable starting Taillon" on Sunday "and we need a starter."

Taillon was reportedly supposed to start the opener of this series on Friday but felt a tweak in his lower back when throwing a bullpen session. He already began the year on the injured list with a back strain, so they wanted to be extra cautious with him.

"We had a step back and we're just going to make sure that it's OK before we send him out there again," Counsell said.

So, they'll turn to their veteran who is coming off the IL because of his own lower back strain.

It's been a rough early portion of the season for Hendricks who had an MLB-worst 12.00 ERA amongst starters prior to his stint.

Maybe some time off helped him figure out things necessary to lower the amount of hits and damage opposing batters have done against him so far.

The Cubs certainly hope so as they need to walk away from this series with a win before they head down to face the Atlanta Braves in a critical stretch that could see them fall multiple games behind in the division race.