Arrieta notches 20th win as Chicago Cubs blank Brewers
Did the Cubs clinch a playoff berth Tuesday night?
Not quite, although judging from the scrum on the field following a 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, it certainly looked that way.
Upon closer inspection, Jake Arietta was in the middle of the pile as his teammates helped him celebrate win No. 20.
“Those are the kind of moments that you live for in this game,” Arietta said after delivering his fourth complete game of the season while becoming baseball's first 20-game winner.
“That's the first time we've done something like that on the field. We usually do that in the clubhouse. It was fun.”
Much more fun is on the way, especially with the Cubs' magic number for clinching their first playoff berth since 2008 down to 3.
On this night, Arietta (20-6) deserved all the attention.
“It's so much fun to play behind Jake,” rookie third baseman Kris Bryant said. “He works quick, throws a lot of strikes. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball. He deserves every bit of this. He's been a horse all year and it's been fun to watch.”
While reaching the 20-win milestone, Arrieta allowed only 3 hits and struck out 11.
“I don't know, really,” Arrieta said when asked what it means to be a 20-game winner. “I've alluded to it before, but this means that I'm putting my team in positions to win ballgames.
“At the end of the day that's our goal. Try to pile on as many as you can, especially with where we're at in the season. Wins now at this time are more important than ever.”
Had the Cubs led 5-0 after eight innings, Arrieta would not have returned for the ninth.
But with the score 4-0 and his pitch count at 108, the 29-year-old righty went back out and completed the game.
“That was outstanding once again,” manager Joe Maddon said. “From the side, you could see all the movement. What can you say? It's 20 wins, that's an outstanding achievement.
“For the organization, it's an outstanding achievement. His status in the game, all that stuff is impacted by that one extra win. It's just the way this thing works.”
Why has Arrieta been so good?
“Fastball command,” Maddon said. “His ability to throw his fastball for a strike when he wants to. Before he was able to do that, he was in Baltimore. He came here and all of the sudden he was able to do that.”
Arrieta became the Cubs' first 20-game winner since Jon Lieber went 20-6 in 2001.
In the third inning, Kris Bryant gave Arrieta all the support he needed with a 2-run homer off Brewers starter Tyler Cravy.
It was a milestone night for Bryant as well. The third baseman has 26 home runs, setting the Cubs' rookie season record. He had been tied with Hall of Famer Billy Williams at 25.