Hendricks’ near-shutout shows rotation’s depth

CHICAGO — When Kyle Hendricks took the mound in the ninth inning, his walkup music, Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion,” was playing. The Cubs right-hander heard it.

“I heard it start,” Hendricks said. “I was trying to tune out as much as I can. I was trying to enjoy it, but I had to finish it out.”

And he did. Hendricks threw his second career complete game, holding the Phillies to five hits in a 4-1 Cubs win Saturday in front of 41,555 at Wrigley Field, who recognized the music, too.

“That was probably the coolest part was standing there for the ninth,” Hendricks said. “I had to tell myself that much more to keep it simple, stay within myself and make pitches.”

That was the message catcher Miguel Montero delivered each pitch, each inning. Hendricks got a boost in the first when he picked off the Phillies’ leadoff man Odubel Herrera, who had reached on an infield single.

“That shut down the running game right there and killed the momentum — that was huge,” Montero said.

The Cubs gave Hendricks a 2-0 cushion in the first on Dexter Fowler’s leadoff home run and an RBI double by Ben Zobrist. That’s all the right-hander needed. Hendricks was efficient, he mixed his pitches well, and he kept his pitch count low.

“I didn’t want him coming out of that game,” Cubs …

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