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Schwarber, Montero, Castro go deep in win
The Chicago Cubs received yet another quality start by ace right-hander, Jake Arrieta who was backed by multiple home runs in the 8-5 win over the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park to match their 2014 win total late Tuesday evening.
Arrieta (16-6, 2.22 ERA) held the defending champions to four hits and one unearned run while issuing one walk and recording eight strikeouts prior to being replaced by Justin Grimm in the seventh inning. He continues to not only help his club push for the post-season, but he could even up winning his first N.L. Cy Young award at the end of the year.
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Kyle Schwarber backed his starting pitcher with a three-run shot to one of the deepest parts of the ballpark to score Tommy La Stella and Dexter Fowler to put the Cubs (73-51) up 3-0 in the third inning.
It wouldn’t be long until another Cub went deep – this time it was veteran catcher Miguel Montero who turned on the first pitch of the at-bat that was delivered by Matt Cain.
Montero’s 14th big fly of the season was a two-run shot to right field that nearly left the building, pushing the lead up to 5-0. Shortly after Montero cleared the bases, shortstop Starlin Castro doubled on a line drive to center fielder, Gregor Blanco with no outs in the inning.
Castro would come around to score just moments later on a broken bat RBI single by La Stella which made a six-run ballgame and Cain still on the mound.
Cain (2-4, 6.15 ERA) was charged with six earned runs on eight hits with two homers, two walks, and only three strikeouts in five innings of work before Bruce Bochy pulled the plug.
With the Giants (66-59) hoping to keep the Cubs at bay, Castro came through with a solo shot to left field, making it a seven-run contest. Fowler would later reach on a fielding error by Brandon Crawford that allowed Arrieta to cross home plate, extending the lead to 8-0.
After San Francisco carved into this lead with two runs entering the eighth, Andrew Susac came through with a clutch bases-loaded clearing double to center field with Clayton Richard on the mound.
Again, tonight’s win matches Chicago’s win total from last season and extends their lead to 7.5 games over the Giants for the second N.L. Wild Card spot.
Kyle Hendricks will have the opportunity to extend this winning streak to seven games when he takes the mound opposite veteran Jake Peavy at 9:15 p.m. central time.