Cubs get 100th win of season

PITTSBURGH -- Win No. 100 for the Chicago Cubs looked a lot like win No. 1, as the best team in baseball for most of the season blew out the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 on Monday night.

The Cubs did the same back on April 4, when they shut out the Los Angeles Angels 9-0, perhaps foreshadowing what was to come.

The Cubs broke the century mark in wins for the first time in 80 years behind major league ERA leader Kyle Hendricks, who threw six shutout innings. In doing so, the Cubs won their 43rd road game one day after they won their franchise-record 57th at home.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, the franchise tied the second-fastest turnaround from 100 losses to 100 wins over the past 100 seasons. The Cubs went 61-101 in 2012, the first season under current team president Theo Epstein. Monday's win marked the 99th time in baseball history that a team has won 100 games, with the Cubs owning six of those 100-win seasons (including 2016).

"The guys wanted that 100th win. I kind of like that," manager Joe Maddon said. "A 100 is very significant for us. I've been on teams that have lost 100 games, so it's kind of nice to be on the other end of the stick. It means we've been pretty consistent all year."

The Cubs achieved the milestone with six games remaining, led by a starting staff whose ERA coming into the night was 0.64 better than that of the next team and the only one in baseball under 3.00 (2.94). It only got better with Hendricks' outing, as he lowered his ERA to 1.99 and became the only qualified hurler in baseball with a sub-2.00 ERA.

"I think it's pretty special to win 100," Hendricks said. "Anytime you accomplish something like that, it's pretty special, and you have to soak it in a little bit."

Also notable in the blowout win was MVP candidate Kris Bryant reaching 100 RBIs for the first time in his career and hitting his 39th home run in the sixth inning.

"It's not too often you get this much talent in one room on one team," Bryant said. "I think we need to realize what we have here and be grateful for it. I could not have pictured a better first few years in the big leagues."

Also Monday, Javier Baez set a career high with six RBIs, with four coming on a grand slam in the fourth inning.

In the previous 30 years, only three of 28 teams to win 100 games went on to win the World Series.