By Bruce Levine–

CHICAGO (CBS) — Normally, the fifth starter on a first-place club is in the “just happy to be here” mode. In the case of Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks, he’s outdueling the opposition and the pitchers on his own staff.

On Monday night, Hendricks threw the second shutout of his career in Chicago’s 5-0 win against Miami at Wrigley Field, simultaneously giving a depleted bullpen a much-needed day off. The night prior, the Cubs had used eight pitchers and relied on their bullpen for nine innings in rallying from a six-run deficit to beat the Mariners in 12 innings.

The attrition and mental fatigue had certainly set in on the bullpen, and Hendricks tossed 123 pitches to give them a rest. He scattered seven hits and three walks across nine innings while striking out five.

“It is in the back of your mind,” Hendricks said of the need to pitch deep in the game. “There were a few situations like that earlier in the year. Maybe there were two starts like this where the bullpen was a little thin. Really, you cannot have a different mindset. You must have the same approach, just have a good mindset and make good pitches. It just happened to turn out that I could save the bullpen.”

The easy-going Hendricks has a quiet assassination instinct that kicks in when he’s toeing the rubber. His gem Monday lowered his ERA to 2.22, the third-best mark in baseball. He’s 6-1 with a 1.04 ERA in nine starts dating back to June 19. That represents the best ERA in baseball over that span.

Could the 26-year-old Hendricks make a Cy Young push with a terrific second half like teammate Jake Arrieta did in winning the award in 2015? He won’t delve too deep into that question yet.

“That is something at the end of the day is just an accolade,” Hendricks said. “Our sights are a lot more than an individual honors on this team. We have a long way to go. I have my sights set higher for this team.”

Hendricks is a manager’s dream to handle.

“He had the same stuff in the ninth inning that he had in the third and fourth,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “Of course with the bullpen being somewhat depleted, we needed that tonight, and he absolutely nailed it.”

Hendricks has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 14 straight starts, the longest such streak of his career. He has also earned the confidence of Maddon by keeping his pitches in the lower portion of the strike zone.

“I am just seeing outstanding command,” Maddon said.

“Last year the walk bothered him a bit. Bad counts bothered him a bit. He is one of the few pitchers who can do well in a 2-1 count. He is the anomaly because of his change-up. When a guy is able to command a change-up when behind in the count, he can go against the grain. He is a humble man, a great teammate, just a joy to be around.”

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