Arrieta sharp but Chicago Cubs fall to New York Mets
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he wasn't sure when an "oil painting" was coming from ace pitcher Jake Arrieta, but he seemed sure it would be soon.
Was Tuesday night soon enough?
With 10 days of rest, Arrieta came back with a full pallette against the New York Mets. He wound up with a no-decision. The Mets scored a run in the ninth inning for a 2-1 victory.
A slicing single to right field by Rene Rivera off Cubs closer Hector Rondon put the Mets ahead. It was Rivera's third hit of the game.
The Cubs loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth, but pinch hitter Matt Szczur grounded into a forceout before Kris Bryant hit into a game-ending double play against Mets closer Juerys Familia.
Looking like the old, dominant Arrieta, the ace of the Cubs' pitching staff breezed through the first five innings with artistic efficiency.
He threw first-pitch strikes to 11 of the first 13 batters he faced and had pitch counts of 8, 9, 10, 10 and 15 through the first five.
The Cubs led 1-0 until the sixth, when Jose Reyes led off with a triple to the right-field corner and scored when Curtis Granderson hit a sacrifice fly.
Arrieta wound up pitching 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and 1 run. He walked one, struck out eight and threw 85 pitches, 63 strikes.
It was Arrieta's first quality start since June 17. In his previous 3 starts, he had given up 15 earned runs in 16⅓ innings. After Tuesday, his ERA was 2.60.
"Mechanically, when I'm more on line, the line I typically use in my delivery, command of the strike zone is a lot better," he said. "So that's what I really got back to. That's why it was easier for me to be more aggressive in the strike zone."
Arrieta had been scrutinized every way possible between his last start and Tuesday, including during the all-star break, especially when he did not pitch in the All-Star Game.
All of that seemed to dissolve into the warm summer air as Arrieta came out firing.
"I know it's out there from you guys, and it's fine," he said. "I understand we needed to talk about it. I'm not sure exactly where I am in the league, but I'm sure it's in the top 10. Can I get better? Yes, but there are going to be times when we struggle."
Before the game, Maddon said a good outing could go a long way toward making Arrieta feel better about himself.
"I think it would really pick him up a lot," the manager said. "Maybe it's one of those things where the confidence took a little bit of a hit for different reasons.
"It's incredible when you feel good about what you're doing, how that impacts what you're doing."
The Cubs gave Arrieta 1-0 lead in the third. With two outs, Willson Contreras doubled to right-center. With Jason Heyward up, Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard uncorked a wild pitch. Contreras came home to score when catcher Rivera threw the ball into left field for an error.
In the fourth, Arrieta doubled to left-center with two outs. Tommy La Stella single to right. Third-base coach Gary Jones waved Arrieta, who was called safe at the plate.
However, the Mets challenged the call, and replay overturned it.
"If I hit the ball over the fence or I'm a little quicker around third base, it might be a different story," Arrieta said. "Just a tough game."