Miles: Arrieta losing is just part of Cubs' weird day
Sunday was some kind of strange day at Wrigley Field.
First, Jake Arrieta suffered the loss for the Chicago Cubs, and that news itself would be enough strangeness for one day.
Arrieta struck out 12 batters but he lasted just 5 innings in a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Here's a sampling of the general weirdness:
• Arrieta struck out three batters in each of the first two innings but trailed 2-0. In the second, he gave up 3 hits to start the inning, including a 2-run double to Yasmany Tomas, before striking out the next three batters.
• Cubs pitchers struck out 18, the most by a Cubs team in a nine-inning game since Kerry Wood (16) and Rod Beck (2) teamed for 18 on Aug. 26, 1998 at Cincinnati. Of the 17 balls put into play by the D'Backs, 10 went for hits.
• Arrieta had tremendous life on his pitches, but with the high strikeout number and deep counts, he ran his pitch count to 108 over 5 innings.
• Manager Joe Maddon got ejected from the game just by stepping out of the dugout in the seventh inning to argue a checked-swing call.
• The Cubs finished the homestand 8-2, but both losses came during Arrieta starts.
So ended a breathtaking run for Arrieta, who had not lost a regular-season decision since last July 25, when the Phillies' Cole Hamels no-hit the Cubs. For this season, Arrieta's record dropped to 9-1 with a 1.80 ERA.
"Everything they put in play seemed to be a basehit," Arrieta said. "The double to Tomas, it was 96 (mph) with some sink off the plate in. He did a good job of keeping his hands in and putting a good swing on it. Just a strange day all the way around."
About his long streak coming to an end, Arrieta was philosophical.
"It was a good run," he said. "Over the course of a half a season last year or so, and a pretty good stretch this year. So, get something new started."
Catcher Miguel Montero echoed that.
"It's amazing," Montero said of Arrieta's streak. "What can I say? It's hard to describe that because it was a heck of a run. Hopefully he starts a new one coming up next start."
The tone for this one was set with the first batter of the game, as Michael Bourn struck out, but in doing so, he worked Arrieta for 10 pitches. Arrieta's inning-by-inning pitch counts were 26, 25, 15, 16 and 26.
In keeping with the strangeness of the day, the D'Backs picked up only 1 run on 5 hits in the fifth, as they had two runners thrown out on the bases.
Arrieta's RBI double to center field gave the Cubs a run in the second, and Javier Baez homered in the sixth, but that's all the Cubs could get off Arizona starter Patrick Corbin and the bullpen.
Cubs relievers Trevor Cahill, Justin Grimm, Travis Wood and Adam Warren held the D'Backs at bay.
Maddon was ordered to leave the premises by plate umpire Tripp Gibson in the seventh after it looked like Paul Goldschmidt struck out against Cahill. But umpires ruled Goldschmidt checked his swing, sending the Cubs' bench into an uproar. At that point, Maddon removed Cahill in favor of Grimm, something he wouldn't have had to do if the call went the other way.
"That was kind of like one of those real on-the-cusp kind of things because I really thought he swung," Maddon said. "I don't think there was any question about it, even from behind him. My biggest concern there was how to use the bullpen. I explained that to him (Gibson). I said, 'Do you know what you just did?' He really made it difficult to use the bullpen for the rest of the game by not doing the right thing by calling him out."
The Cubs had a shot in the ninth. Anthony Rizzo, who got most of the day off, walked with two outs as a pinch hitter. But Montero grounded out to first base to end the game.
"That's all you'd ever ask for there, too," Maddons said, referring to a fighting chance. "There's no quit in our group."
Scouting report
Chicago Cubs vs. Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park
TV: Comcast SportsNet Monday and Wednesday; WGN Tuesday
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jon Lester (6-3) vs. Adam Morgan (1-4) Monday at 6:05 p.m.; Kyle Hendricks (4-4) vs. Jerad Eickhoff (2-8) Tuesday at 6:05 p.m.; John Lackey (6-2) vs. Vince Velasquez (5-2) Wednesday at 12:05 p.m.
At a glance: The Cubs swept three from the Phillies at Wrigley Field, May 27-29. The pitching matchups for this series are the same as the matchups in Chicago. The Phillies have fallen below .500 after a good start to the season. Their run differential heading into Sunday was minus-56. Odubel Herrera entered Sunday with a line of .305/.418/.426 with 5 homers and 17 RBI for the Phillies. Maikel Franco had 9 homers and 30 RBI. The Phillies were 14th in the NL in runs scored, 14th in homers, 14th in walks and last in on-base percentage. The Cubs ranked first in OBP and walks. Their pitchers led the NL in ERA (2.56). This begins a three-city, nine-game road trip for the Cubs.
Next: Atlanta Braves at Turner Field, Friday-Sunday
- Bruce Miles