Kyle Hendricks had kept the Cubs in striking distance through 5 innings.

But the Padres’ offense showed their potency.

San Diego exploded for 2 homers and 3 runs in the 6^th inning off the veteran righty and took the rubber match 10-2. It’s the third straight outing Hendricks has allowed 5 or more earned runs, the first time that’s happened in his career.

Craig Counsell, needing some length from his starter, tried to squeeze a few more outs out of Hendricks after recording an 11-pitch, 1-2-3 inning in the 5^th inning. The Cubs’ starters haven’t had a starter record more than 15 outs in a start since Javier Assad on April 2.

The Cubs have had to rely on their bullpen heavily early on this season. Cubs starters have thrown 52.2 innings while their relievers have logged 53 innings.

Part of that has been due to injuries — their top two starters, Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon are currently on the IL. But part of it is the inability of the starters to pitch deep into games. Hendricks, like other starters this season, was bogged down by some bad luck and a long inning on Wednesday.

Hendricks threw 23 pitches in the 2^nd inning, allowing a pair of runs on 3 hits — and all 3 knocks were hit with an exit velocity of 69-mph or less. In the 4^th, he allowed 3 straight hits to plate 2 more runs.

A quick 5^th inning allowed Counsell to turn back to the veteran to try and preserve his bullpen while keeping his team in striking distance.

But the heart of the Padres lineup had had enough looks at the righty and was ready to ambush him from the onset of the frame. Jake Cronenworth homered on the second pitch of the at-bat, Manny Machado singled and Jurickson Profar homered two pitches into his at-bat.

It was then that Counsell turned to Daniel Palencia and the Cubs’ reliever corps, but the damage had been done.

On the other side, Dylan Cease was dominant against the Cubs’ strong offense.  

The ex-Cubs minor leaguer faced just one hitter above the minimum through his first 11 outs. The Cubs seemed to be finding a groove with 2 outs in the 4^th when Christopher Morel reached on an error by shortstop Ha-Seong Kim. Michael Busch followed that up with his second home run of the season to tie the game at 2.

But Cease buckled in. He stranded a pair of runners in the 5^th and pitched a perfect 6^th inning to stymie any threat from the Cubs. He finished the outing allowing just 2 hits and no earned runs while striking out 7.

The Cubs will turn to Jordan Wicks on Friday in the series opener against the Mariners in Seattle. The rookie lefty has gone 4 innings and 4.2 in his first two starts of the season, respectively. But an off day should allow Counsell to reset his bullpen and keep most arms fresh and available when the series kicks off.