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Ross doesn't second-guess Cubs' Arrieta trying to pitch through illness

Cubs manager David Ross didn't want to second-guess the decision to stick with Jake Arrieta as Friday's starting pitcher.

Arrieta left the game after giving up 6 runs in the second inning, then said he'd been experiencing stomach flu throughout the day, throwing up before and after he took the mound.

"To my knowledge, it wasn't really that bad until the second inning," Ross said. "So I don't know that that was even on anybody's radar, other than his own. I can't tell you how many times I've started a game feeling off and then things kind of a correct. I was never a starting pitcher. Hindsight's a tough thing to comment on."

Arrieta said he thought something he ate for lunch might have caused the illness, but felt he could fight through it and didn't consider scratching himself.

"I wasn't going to do that," Arrieta said. "I thought I was capable of going out there and doing a little bit more. Didn't really have my legs underneath me. Just not a great day."

• Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls

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