ST. LOUIS _ Kyle Hendricks earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College in economics, and Monday night the ascendant Cubs right-hander earned his master's in pitching.
Hendricks, 26, relied on his finesse and pinpoint control to pitch eight no-hit innings before Jeremy Hazelbaker homered leading off the ninth to barely dim a 4-1 victory over the rival Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
The victory reduced the Cubs' magic number for winning the National League Central to three, and it ended with some tension.
Moments after Hazelbaker rounded the bases, the Cubs infielders converged on the mound to support Hendricks. Meanwhile, manager Joe Maddon came out to argue with plate umpire Joe West and was ejected.
This marked the biggest achievement of Hendricks' three-year career, as he improved to 15-7 this season while lowering his major-league-leading ERA to 2.03.
Hendricks kept the Cardinals off balance with his curveball and a changeup he seemed to throw with confidence regardless of the count.
"It's a different form of dominance," Maddon said.
After walking Yadier Molina with one out in the second, Hendricks induced an inning-ending double play and didn't allow another baserunner until Jedd Gyorko walked with two out in the eighth. Hendricks completed the inning by getting Jhonny Peralta to hit a foul pop caught by second baseman Javier Baez.
Hendricks pitched with no stress as he needed only 63 pitches through the first six innings and 96 in all.
The Cardinals didn't exactly sting the ball off Hendricks, but he was the beneficiary of exceptional defense on consecutive plays to start the sixth.
Shortstop Addison Russell slid on the grass in shallow left field to make a backhanded stop and quickly regained his balance to easily retire Peralta for the first out. Right fielder Jason Heyward sprinted before reaching into the seats to catch a foul pop by Hazelbaker.
Television replays showed Baez shoving a fan who was trying to pry the ball from Heyward.
With one out in the seventh, third baseman Kris Bryant ranged to his left to field a grounder by Stephen Piscotty before tumbling briefly but regaining his footing to make the throw to first in plenty of time.
For the second time in as many games, the Cubs relied on a blend of power and timely hitting in the early innings. Ben Zobrist ripped a solo home run off Mike Leake in the second that landed in the right-field bullpen.
Baez is starting to get better results hitting to all fields, and he opened the third with a single up the middle and advanced to third on a hit by Dexter Fowler.
With two out, Anthony Rizzo poked a single into right to score Baez.
In the fifth, an error by Gyorko at shortstop paved the way for a two-run home run by Fowler.
Since falling into an 0-for-19 slump, Fowler has responded by going 5-for-12 with five walks, a double, a triple and a home run.
