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Arrieta moves to 5-0 as Chicago Cubs sweep Brewers

Neither Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon nor ace pitcher Jake Arrieta seemed worried about streaks of any kind Thursday.

Consecutive scoreless innings? Quality starts?

Forget it.

The Cubs and Arrieta got what they needed - if not totally what they wanted - in Thursday's 7-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at chilly Wrigley Field.

Coming off the previous Thursday's no-hitter at Cincinnati, Arrieta pitched 5 innings against the Brewers, giving up a hit to the first batter he faced. He allowed 1 run while walking four and striking out six.

Arrieta will end April with a record of 5-0 and an ERA of 1.00. His consecutive-innings scoreless streak at home ended at 52⅔, and his franchise-record string of quality starts ended at 24. The major-league record since 1914 is 26, set by the Cardinals' Bob Gibson from 1967-68.

Arrieta has won his last 16 decisions, tied for the longest streak by a Cub since Rick Sutcliffe's 16-game winning streak over 1984-85.

In the end, the Cubs improved their record to 16-5, and Arrieta got a bit of a breather.

"I saw 92 pitches," Maddon said, referring to Arrieta's pitch count. "I saw Jake Arrieta. I saw the Cubs trying to win a World Series. I saw the next five years of his career. I know his kids really well. All that stuff mattered much more than breaking Gibson's record right there."

Arrieta has never been one to think about streaks and records as they're happening. He gave up his first run at home since July 25 of last year in Thursday's fifth inning on Alex Presley's two-out RBI double.

"Just because I gave up a run and the streak ended doesn't mean I'm going to put a whole lot of thought into it right now," he said. "I'll kind of reserve that for later on."

Arrieta admitted it was a struggle early. He threw 31 of his 92 pitches in the first inning, when he stranded three Brewers on the bases.

"That's all I can say, is that he is human," said catcher David Ross. "Tough elements out there today. Tough winds. Hard to get a grip. He did a great job today, I thought."

At issue early on was too much movement on Arrieta's sinking, two-seam fastball. After the first couple of innings, Arrieta and Ross went to an easier-to-command four-seam fastball to get ahead in counts.

"I was just a little flat today," Arrieta said. "Stuff was OK. I just didn't establish everything early enough in the ballgame and got into some spots where counts got extended, pitch counts got up."

Arrieta also had to prepare for a start two days in a row. His Wednesday night start was rained out.

"Turning it off mentally after a rainout like that, where it's so close to game time, it's tough to wind down," he said. "To fire it back up early, it's something you have to deal with, especially early in the season. We know there's the potential for rain delays in April-May. After that point, it's fairly consistent. It's just a variable we just have to deal with and deal with the best way we can."

The offense helped Arrieta early and often, scoring twice in the first, once in the second and twice more in the third. Ben Zobrist's 2-run single off Taylor Jungmann in the first gave the Cubs the lead. Ross crushed a homer to the back of the left-field bleachers leading off the second. RBI doubles by Anthony Rizzo and Tommy La Stella made it 5-0 in the third.

Cubs batters drew 11 walks against Milwaukee pitching.

"It's a very talented lineup and a deep lineup, for sure," Ross said. "We force guys to throw strikes, and that's the sign of a good ballclub that has a lot of confidence in their ability."

• Follow Bruce's Cubs and baseball reports on Twitter @BruceMiles2112.

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Scouting report

Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet Friday; ABC 7 Saturday; WGN Sunday

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jon Lester (2-1) vs. Aaron Blair (0-1) Friday; John Lackey (3-1) vs. Julio Teheran (0-3) Saturday; Jason Hammel (3-0) vs. Matt Wisler (0-2) Sunday. All games 1:20 p.m.

At a glance: The Braves are off to the worst start in the major leagues at 4-17 entering Thursday. Incredibly, they had hit just 4 home runs as a team and were batting .224. The team's pitchers had an ERA of 5.07. Freddie Freeman had 2 of the Braves' homers, and Nick Markakis had 16 RBI and an OBP of .391 entering Thursday's gajme at Boston. Former White Sox players Tyler Flowers, Gordon Beckham and A.J. Pierzynski are on the Braves. Cubs batters entered Thursday leading the major leagues in walks (103).

Next: Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, Monday-Wednesday

- Bruce Miles

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