Jake Arrieta leads Chicago Cubs to win over Cardinals

Arrieta shuts down Cards over seven innings

Right-hander

picked up right where he left off in 2014 in his first start of the year on Wednesday, striking out seven across seven shutout frames, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 win over the division rival St. Louis Cardinals.

Arrieta (1-0, 0.00 ERA) had great life on his pitches all afternoon long, despite chilly temperatures at Wrigley Field. His counterpart, Lance Lynn, matched him blow-for-blow for most of the contest.

The often-underrated right-hander allowed just one earned run (two runs total) across six innings of work; with just two Cubs hitters managing a base hit against him on the afternoon.

After Lynn (0-1, 1.50 ERA) hit Cubs’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo to lead off the bottom of the seventh, the St. Louis starter made a bad pickoff throw to first, allowing Rizzo to advance to second with nobody out in the inning.

Chicago shortstop Starlin Castro then lined a 1-1 pitch from Lynn over the head of his St. Louis counterpart Jhonny Peralta, scoring Rizzo for the Cubs’ first run of the 2015 season.

That spelled the end of the day for the St. Louis righty – as manager Mike Matheny turned to reliever Kevin Siegrist.

With Castro on second, Chris Coghlan laid down a sac bunt, moving the three-time All-Star to third with still only one out in the frame.

Pinch-hitter Miguel Montero came off the bench to face the St. Louis lefty, eventually driving a 2-1 pitch from Siegrist into deep right field to score Castro, accounting for the Cubs’ second – and final – run of the afternoon.

What Stood Out:

While the Cubs pulled out a win, the offense was still caught in the throes of immense struggles. The bats managed just a pair of hits against Lynn and a pair of St. Louis relievers – totaling just the two runs in 18 innings in the series.

On the flip side, the Chicago bullpen was lights-out for the second consecutive game, with Phil Coke, Neil Ramirez and Pedro Strop tossing a scoreless eighth and closer Hector Rondon nailing down his first save of the 2015 campaign.

What’s Up Next:

Chicago (1-1) heads west to open its first road series of the season in Denver on Friday afternoon, taking on the Colorado Rockies.

Travis Wood (0-0, 0.00) will take the ball in the series opener at Coors Field and will be opposed by left-hander Tyler Matzek (0-0, 0.00).