Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy on struggling starter Kyle Hendricks: 'We know he's going to come out of it'

(670 The Score) Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks has earned his place in franchise lore. Now in his 11th MLB season, Hendricks has been a model of consistency and is a World Series champion.

But Hendricks has endured great struggles early this season. Through four starts, he has allowed 24 earned runs, 31 hits and seven walks over just 17 innings. In the Cubs’ 12-11 loss to the Diamondbacks in 10 innings on Tuesday night in Arizona, Hendricks surrendered seven earned runs over 4 1/3 innings. He allowed two homers and walked three.

As the Cubs anticipate the returns of ace Justin Steele and right-hander Jameson Taillon – with Taillon expected to pitch Thursday evening against the Marlins at Wrigley Field – they must evaluate whether Hendricks should remain in the starting rotation.

Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy understands those questions and concerns but also believes Hendricks can turn it around and be effective.

“We saw a guy kind of early in the year that was trying to find some mechanical things and also try to call his pitches at the same time, and he’s so smart and studious in what he wants to do, knows how he wants to attack hitters,” Hottovy said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Wednesday morning. “And sometimes you get a little one-dimensional, you kind of fall into patterns.

“The big thing is when he makes a mistake right now, he’s paying for it. I think he gave up five hits last night and two of them were homers. And one of them was a middle-in fastball to (Lourdes) Gurriel, another one was an 0-2 fastball to Joc (Pederson) that Kyle just didn’t execute. That’s just not something we’re used to seeing of Kyle. When he’s ahead, he’s usually getting guys out at a high clip. And then the other part of yesterday was going out for the fifth, the two walks that kind of put us in a tough spot there, that’s just uncharacteristic of Kyle.

“When you’re lacking confidence early in the year, you see guys tend to be a little bit more fine with how they attack hitters, maybe falling behind more often. For Kyle, he’s so good at when he attacks the strike zone early and gets ahead and can just stay on the attack and be aggressive. I know it was still a tough outing for Kyle, (but) there’s still some positives to take out of it in the way he’s feeling, the way he’s moving. He’s starting to get better.

“You get to a point where the results just need to happen. I know Kyle knows that and he feels that. But he’s not going to change his approach. He’s going to continue to work and be the steady guy that he is and that’s what you appreciate with guys that do that. We know he’s going to come out of it.”

The Cubs close out their nine-game West Coast road trip Wednesday afternoon when they visit the Diamondbacks in the rubber match of their series. Left-hander Jordan Wicks will start for the Cubs, opposing Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt. First pitch is scheduled for 2:40 CT from Chase Field. The game can be heard on 670 The Score.