Levine: Kyle Hendricks Sharp, While Cubs Back Him With 5 Homers

By Bruce Levine--

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks was in command of the strike zone and the Pittsburgh Pirate hitters on Sunday evening, as he struck out a career-high 12 batters in his team's 10-5 win that finished off a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field.

"Kyle was really good," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He was really, really good. He was outstanding. He had great location and movement. He kept repeating his delivery. Other than the pitch to (Josh ) Harrison (a solo home run in the fourth), I don't know if he did make a mistake."

Cub hitters brought out the heavy lumber in support of Hendricks. Javier Baez drilled a solo shot in the second inning, while Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo went back-to-back in the third off of Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon for a 4-0 lead. It was then rookie catcher Willson Contreras who brought down the house. Pinch-hitting for Hendricks in the sixth inning, Contreras hit the first pitch he saw in the big leagues for a long homer into the right-center field bleachers.

He received a standing ovation from the 41,024 in attendance when he came to bat. One pitch by A.J. Schugel later, a curtain call by the Wrigley faithful was in order. Contreras became only the second Cubs player in history to homer on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues. Pitcher Jim Bullinger was the other on June 8, 1992.

"I was just looking for the right spot," Maddon said about moving Contreras in for his first ever at-bat. "Everything was really timed well. The home run is pretty special."

Added Contreras: "It was a changeup. As a rookie in my first at-bat, I told myself to relax. I was able to do that and have a nice at-bat."

Eight Cubs in history have had home runs in their first at-bats in the majors. Prior to Sunday, Jorge Soler was the last to do it, on Aug, 27, 2014.

The Pirates mounted a late rally, scoring three runs off of the Cubs bullpen in the seventh inning. Both Clayton Richard and Adam Warren allowed two runs. The Cubs answered with four in their half of the inning, including a two-run homer from shortstop Addison Russell.

"The whole group did it," Maddon said. "We needed to score more runs tonight, and we did. You go up and down the list, it was a really well-played game offensively and defensively."

The surging Cubs have opened up a 12.5-game lead over the second-place Cardinals, who are in town Monday to start a series. That's their biggest divisional/league lead since Oct. 5, 1929. Chicago has a 15-game lead over third-place Pittsburgh.

At an MLB-best 47-20, the Cubs are off to their best start since 1918, when they started with the same mark. The Cubs have won 25 games this year by five runs or more.

Hendricks won his fifth game while bringing his ERA down to 2.94 in allowing one run in six innings. All five of the rotational starters have ERAs under 3.00.

"My fastball command was just OK,"Hendricks said. "My changeup command was really, really good. That was the best my change has been all year. Maybe even better than any time last year."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.