Morning Marquee: Chicago Cubs get first win, Arrieta picks up where he left off

Arrieta shows “ace” form in Cubs victory

There was a lot of talk in the offseason about the acquisition of

, and how the Chicago Cubs finally has that ace of the pitching staff. Apparently

doesn’t pay much attention to all of that. On another cold day at Wrigley, Arrieta started off a bit slow before finishing up a masterful outing in the Cubs 2-0 win.

Arrieta struck out seven across seven shutout frames, and needed every bit of that to outduel the Cardinals Lance Lynn. For Lynn, it was a day of only three mistakes, but they all came together. After hitting Anthony Rizzo, he then threw the ball away on a pickoff play allowing Rizzo to advance to second. He then left a pitch up in the zone that Starlin Castro stroked into the left field gap, giving the Cubs their first score of the year. They added another on a Miguel Montero sacrifice fly to finish the scoring for the day.

Jon Lester clarified that he has no issues throwing over to first base, but he just hasn’t had to do it often in the last few years. Cubs skipper Joe Maddon says they will continue to work on it, hoping to make him even more comfortable with it.

The Cubs added a familiar face, signing James Russell to a minor league deal. Russell had spent his entire career with the Cubs before being traded to Atlanta last season. He finished with a career-low ERA last season, but a rough spring led Atlanta to release him. With few lefty option in the pen, Russell may find his way back to Chicago before the year is over.

These stories and more from around the league:

‘Jake Arrieta leads Cubs to 2-0 victory over the Cardinals’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Cubs Jon Lester has no issues throwing to first’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Votto’s walk-off hit gives Reds win over Pirates’ – Blog Red Machine

‘Cubs sign James Russell to minor league deal’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Gonzalez blasts three home runs in Dodgers victory’ – Lasorda’s Lair

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