Arrieta dominates, Cubs beat Braves 4-1
ATLANTA - Jake Arrieta pitched seven dominant innings and Jorge Soler homered to help the Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Sunday.
Arrieta (11-5) gave up three hits, three walks and struck out 10, throwing 73 of his 112 pitches for strikes. Over his last six starts, the right-hander is 5-0 with a 0.96 ERA.
It was the second straight impressive start for the Cubs, whose starting pitchers have a 1.29 ERA over their last 16 games. Jon Lester gave up just two hits and one walk in 7 1/3 innings of a 4-0 win Saturday.
Shelby Miller (5-6) struck out eight and allowed four hits, four walks and three runs - one earned - in six innings for the Braves. Atlanta has lost seven of eight.
After James Russell walked Perez with two outs in the ninth, Jason Motte gave up Simmons' RBI single, but he retired pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes on a groundout to earn his sixth save in as many chances.
Arrieta had to grind through a tough seventh, but after Eury Perez doubled with two outs and Andrelton Simmons walked, pinch-hitter Joey Terdoslavich struck out to end the threat.
The Braves seemed helpless to solve Arrieta, who allowed two walks and had both runners in scoring position in the first before escaping the jam with a strikeout of A.J. Pierzynski.
Pierzynski, who broke up Lester's bid for a no-hitter Saturday with an eighth-inning single, doubled with two outs in the fourth for Atlanta's first hit, but Arrieta struck out Pedro Ciriaco.
Cameron Maybin's one-out single in the sixth was harmless, too, as Arrieta stranded him by striking out Kelly Johnson.
Arrieta, who set a career high for victories, became the first Cubs pitcher since Carlos Zambrano in 2011 to win more than 10 games.
The Cubs went up 2-0 in the second. Chris Coghlan singled and moved to second when Starlin Castro reached on Jace Peterson's throwing error. After a walk to David Ross loaded the bases, Jonathan Herrera hit a two-run single to center field.
Soler hit his fifth homer to make it 3-0 in the third. It was Soler's first homer since May 29 against Kansas City.
Coghlan's RBI double in the ninth put the Cubs ahead 4-0.
Pedro Strop pitched the eighth for Chicago, giving up a leadoff double to Peterson but stranding him at second.
The Braves cut the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth.
The Cubs, improving to 16-7 against the NL East this year, earned their first series victory at Turner Field since Aug. 12-14, 2011. They snapped an eight-game losing streak in Atlanta on Saturday.
Cubs second baseman Addison Russell is not injured, but manager Joe Maddon gave him the day off Sunday to rest.
Cubs scouting report
Cubs vs. Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park
TV: Comcast SportsNet Monday and Tuesday; ABC 7 Wednesday (both games).
Radio: WBBM 780-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Clayton Richard (1-0) vs. Michael Lorenzen (3-4) today at 6:10 p.m.; Jason Hammel (5-4) vs. Raisel Iglesias (1-2) Tuesday at 6:10 p.m.; Kyle Hendricks (4-4) or TBD vs. Mike Leake (7-5) or TBD Wednesday at 11:35 a.m.; Hendricks or TBD vs. Leake or TBD Wednesday at 5:10 p.m.
At a glance: This is a four-game series because of a rainout April 25. The Cubs' Anthony Rizzo entered Sunday fourth in the National League in OPS (. 950), third in on-base percentage (. 414) and seventh in slugging (. 536). His .458 OBP against left-handed pitching led the NL. The Reds (40-49) are just a game ahead of surging Milwaukee in the battle to stay out of last place in the NL Central. However, the Reds are 23-20 at home. Joey Votto has a line of .289/.401/.505, and Todd Frazier leads the team in home runs (25). The Reds are 12th in the NL in runs scored and 10th in OBP, but they're second in homers as they take advantage of their ballpark. The Cubs entered Sunday 11th in runs, ninth in OBP and eighth in homers. Their pitching staff was third in ERA (3.28) while the Reds were 11th (4.10). The Cubs may call up pitcher Dallas Beeler from Class AAA Iowa to serve as the 26th man and start one of the doubleheader games.
Next: Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field, Friday-Sunday
- Bruce Miles