Chicago Cubs fall 7-3 to Dodgers; Talks with Jake Arrieta come to a halt

With the second week of Cactus League play underway, the Chicago Cubs welcomed in Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers for an exhibition game that features two N.L. Cy Young winners and two young phenoms.

The last time these two met, Jake Arrieta hurled his first career no-hitter, making a serious case for himself for Cy Young honors. He found himself in a neck-and-neck race with Kershaw and former Dodger Zack Greinke.

During the bottom of the third inning, National League Rookie of the Year slugger Kris Bryant singled off Kershaw to push Javier Baez across to score. He would later swat his first homer of the spring just two innings later, on the second pitch of the at-bat.

Shortly after Micah Johnson gave the Dodgers a one-run lead on an RBI double in the top of the sixth, veteran catcher David Ross took Pedro Baez deep to left field.

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Ross is playing in his final spring training of his active career but will definitely be back as a coach either with the Cubs or another organization. He’s made several highlight plays over the first week of Cactus League play.

From there on, it was all about the Dodgers capitalizing with runners on base. Pitching prospect Armando Rivero had control of the inning having retired the first two batters of the frame via routine groundouts.

That was, until, he gave up back-to-back singles and a wild pitch that resulted in Los Angeles regaining a lead. Moments later, Trayce Thompson broke things wide open with an RBI triple to center field, making it 6-3.

The Cubs currently sit at 1-6 with a few weeks left to go and it sounds like talks with Jake Arrieta have come to a stand still.

Arrieta recently signed a 1-year contract and has the opportunity to negotiate a long-term deal throughout the season if the Cubs opt to do so. It was said that he was hoping to receive a 7-year but considering the fact that he still has two years until he hits free agency, the Cubs were not biting.

There’s no telling when a deal will get done but both sides have plenty of time in between to figure out what works best for each party. He’s still one of the most important pieces of this World Series hopeful club, so there’s no need to worry.