Nate Schierholtz leads Chicago Cubs to walk-off win

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth, things looked bleak once again for Chicago Cubs starter Jake Arrieta and his teammates. However, after plating an eighth-inning run and a walk-off RBI single off the bat of Nate Schierholtz in the bottom of the ninth, the home team rallied for a come-from-behind, 2-1 win against the New York Mets.

The Schierholtz base hit came with one out in the bottom of the ninth with Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who singled to lead off the inning, standing on second base. Schierholtz lined a base hit against Mets reliever Scott Rice into the right field corner to send the home faithful home happy.

The walk-off win got Arrieta off the hook, after he was set for a loss despite allowing just a first inning run in 4 2/3 innings of work. He was hit fairly regularly, though, allowing seven hits in his start.

Four Chicago relievers – Brian Schlitter, James Russell, Neil Ramirez and Hector Rondon – combined to close out the ballgame, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless frames in relief of the Cubs’ right-hander. Rondon earned the hold and the win just hours after the man he replaced, Jose Veras, was designated for assignment by the club.

The lone New York run came in the very first inning when Curtis Granderson, who has struggled with his new club thus far, hit a sacrifice fly to center field, plating Matt den Dekker, who singled to lead off the game against Arrieta.

Cubs outfielder Chris Coghlan tied the game at one apiece in the eighth with a solo home run – his first on the season. Chicago managed just six hits in the ballgame – three of which came from Schierholtz, who appears to be heating up after a dreadful start to the 2014 campaign.