Chicago Cubs' Arrieta just happy team gets big win
PITTSBURGH — Wins by pitchers have lost some of their luster over the years.
The sabermetrics revolution has seen to that.
But there was no mistaking the anticipation the Cubs had of Jake Arrieta making his first attempt at win No. 20 on Wednesday night at PNC Park, where he started against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Arrieta did not get win No. 20 as the Pirates put across the tying run to make it 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Cubs won 3-2 on Anthony Rizzo's sacrifice fly in the 12th inning.
Arrieta worked 8 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 runs, 1 earned. He said the team win was more important than him getting his 20th. Arrieta also bemoaned a throwing error he made in the sixth inning to give the Pirates a run after the Cubs had gone up 2-0 in the top half.
“Obviously, that's the most important aspect of the night,” he said of the Cubs winning. “I made an inexcusable mental mistake in the sixth inning that could have potentially cost us the game. That's my one take-away. I grinded it out, had to make some pretty big pitches, especially in the eighth.”
The Cubs improved to 84-61 and pulled to within 3 games of the Pirates in the race for the top wild-card spot.
“One of the things I've always used as a benchmark is an extra-inning win on the road,' manager Joe Maddon said. “That's not an easy thing to do. Under these circumstances, at this place, at this time of the year, I'm really proud of our effort.”
Even a new-school stats hound like Cubs president Theo Epstein paid homage to Arrieta in his quest for No. 20.
“Yeah, I'm excited every time I see him on the mound,” Epstein said before this key four-game series opened. “It's exhilarating to watch him out there pitching at such a high level, knowing how hard he worked to get to this point.
“He always had a lot of natural ability, but he's not a guy who woke up and was a 20-game candidate in the major leagues. He really had to go through some tough times and work at his craft.
“He wakes up every day trying to figure out how to get better. You like to see those kind of people and that kind of work ethic rewarded.”
Although pitcher wins can be affected by things like run support teammates give a starter, Arrieta has pitched like what we believed a traditional 20-game winner to be. In other words, he has been dominant, especially since late June, when he started a streak of 17 quality starts that continued Wednesday.
The game was scoreless until the Cubs got 2 runs in the sixth inning, chasing Pirates starter A.J. Burnett. Kris Bryant had an RBI double, and Starlin Castro later laid down a nice bunt to score Bryant from third.
Arrieta helped the Pirates get on the board in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, Gregory Polanco singled and stole second base. The inning appeared over when Starlin Marte grounded the ball back to Arrieta.
However, Arrieta's throw to first base was too high for Rizzo. The ball got away for an error on Arrieta, allowing Polanco to score an unearned run.
The Pirates tied it in the eighth, but the Cubs got some huge defensive plays late, including a spectacular double-play started by second baseman Castro to end the ninth.
The victory went to closer Hector Rondon, who worked 2 scoreless innings.