Arrieta, home runs lead Cubs over Pirates
Starting to detect a pattern here?
You don't want to term what the Cubs are doing as "wash, rinse and repeat." Not only would that be cliché, but it wouldn't do justice to what they're accomplishing.
It's more like "power blast, douse and repeat."
They did it again Saturday, crushing the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2 at cold and windy Wrigley Field.
The Cubs got home runs from Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell and 8 strong innings from ace Jake Arrieta to win their second straight over the Pirates to improve to 27-8 for the season. That's the best start through 35 games since the 1984 Detroit Tigers went 30-5.
The decisiveness of the Cubs' victories is something to behold, both against the rest of baseball and against their division-rival Pirates.
The Cubs have outscored all opponents 213-103 for a run differential of 110. They've outscored the Pirates 37-11 in five games - all victories - this season.
The Pirates must be wondering if their supposed window of opportunity in the National League Central is being slammed cruelly on their fingers.
"The thing I like most is we come ready to play every day," said manager Joe Maddon. "We don't (say), 'Oh, we have a nice record. We won a series, and we're just going to show up.' That's not how our guys are. I have greater opportunity now to see them work because of this (new) clubhouse. I'm talking about away from the field.
"I was talking about Addison (Russell). It was spectacular watching him get ready for the game today. I see relief pitchers in there constantly doing things in the morning. When you stand in the dugout, I just tell myself: 'Trust your players, trust the guys,' because they're doing all the right things, and they're getting ready to play, and nobody's mailing anything in.
"We're holding ourselves to a high standard. Everybody wants to win every day. That doesn't happen all the time. I'm telling you, it doesn't."
Arrieta might be the biggest workout freak on the team, if not in all of baseball. He started strong Saturday before hitting a speed bump in the fourth, when the Pirates scored twice to take a 2-0 lead. But he finished strong, giving up 3 hits while walking two and striking out 11. He ran his record to 7-0 with a 1.29 ERA.
"We fared well against them thus far," Arrieta said. "We know the quality they have over there. That hasn't changed. We've just been playing some good baseball. We've been throwing well. Our bullpen has been great. And obviously, our offense is doing their thing. You just want to see our guys stay as hot as they can for as long as possible. When somebody's struggling, we have guys who can pick them up."
The scary thing about Arrieta is that his manager says there's more his ace can do.
"He's not been as sharp as he can be this year," Maddon said. "I mean that. I'm not trying to be casual about it. He just hasn't been as sharp as he can be. There's another level of sharpness for him."
On the offensive side, Rizzo put the Cubs ahead in the bottom of the fourth with a 3-run homer, his 11th of the year, giving him 33 RBI. The home run was a high drive to right field that got a bit of boost from a northwest wind howling at 17 mph.
In the sixth, Russell hit one out to left field. It was his fourth homer of the season and second in two days.
"I'm just trying to see the ball right now," he said. "I'm seeing the ball well. I'm laying off some pretty good pitches and swinging at some pretty good pitches."
The 22-year-old Russell is wowing his manager and teammates with his maturity. He came up last year at 13 home runs in 142 games.
"A little bit more confident," he said of the difference between this season and last. "I want to do more damage with the bat, for sure. I was trying to work the count, get the count deep and get something to hit, or hit something early in the count that's good to hit."