Cubs Recap: Jake Arrieta cruises to his 18th win in shutout of the D’backs

Jake ‘The Snake’ records 15th consecutive quality start

It was another warm afternoon at Wrigley Field and it got even warmer once ace right-hander Jake Arrieta started dealing for the Chicago Cubs in the 2-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Arrieta (18-6, 2.03 ERA) worked eight scoreless innings for the Cubs (77-57) who are once again 20 games above .500. He gave up only four hits over the course of the game, two of which came during the top of the first inning but the Diamondbacks (65-71) were unable to capitalize with a runner in scoring position.

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The 29-year-old dialed in with seven strikeouts of his own prior to turning things over to Hector Rondon who recorded the save in the ninth inning to claim the series.

Like his no-hit performance this past Sunday, there wasn’t much offense to go around. Veteran catcher David Ross wasn’t with the team when Arrieta made history against the Dodgers, but he was in today’s lineup against Arizona.

Ross recorded the first run of the ballgame in the fourth on a ground out to second base with the bases loaded full of Cubbies. Anthony Rizzo started off the inning with a single to center field and Javier Baez followed that up with his second walk of the series.

Starlin Castro kept the pressure on Bobbie Ray (3-11, 3.72 ERA) with a single to right field to set things up for the bottom half of the order. Shortly after Ross grounded out, both Arrieta and Addison Russell struck out swinging to retire the side.

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It wouldn’t be long until the Cubs recorded the second run of the contest when Dexter Fowler stepped into the batter’s box to lead off the fifth inning after starting 0-for-2. Fowler wasted little time in the at-bat, swinging on the first pitch which was a 78 miles per hour slider and sending it out into the bleachers in left field.

His solo homer is the team’s fifth big fly of the series and turned out to be more than enough for Arrieta to get the job done on the mound. Although, the one run scored thanks to Ross could have been enough, but insurance doesn’t hurt.

Tomorrow, Kyle Hendricks will have the opportunity to wrap up the homestand on a positive note before heading to St. Louis to being an important road trip. He’ll go head-to-head with Rubby De La Rosa at 1:20 p.m. central time.

Next: Cubs blast their way to victory; Extend Wild Card lead