Chicago Cubs go back-to-back as they snap San Francisco’s streak

It was both an exciting and scary night for the Chicago Cubs as Jake Arrieta continued to dominate and their offense came alive. Outfielder Jason Heyward made an early exit in the first following a diving play.

Finally, this Chicago Cubs offense was alive and well on the West Coast while right-hander Jake Arrieta did his thing, picking up his eighth win of the season.

Arrieta (8-0, 1.29 ERA) was absolutely lights-out against the Giants, outdueling the opposition as Jake Peavy made an early exit as well. Peavy was pulled after 1 2/3 innings of work when the Cubs  (29-11) tagged him for five earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and one big fly.

Kris Bryant, who started the game at third base, hammered a three-run homer during the top of the fifth to cap a five-run frame. He was later moved to right field when Heyward was removed from the game.

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With Denard Span in the batter’s box to begin the home half of the first for the Giants (25-19), Heyward made a diving play out in “Triples Alley” and made contact with the wall, resulting in him calling for help afterward.

Skipper Joe Maddon brought in Tommy La Stella to replace Bryant at third moments later. La Stella came through with a long RBI single off the right-field wall which made it a 2-0. Arrieta would be caught up in a rundown on the play.

Arrieta was standing on second following an RBI single of his own and pumped the brakes after rounding third. By the time he made the turn, right-fielder Hunter Pence made the relay throw back to the infield.

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Jake tossed over 100 pitches on the evening, holding the Giants to one earned run on four hits while issuing two free passes and striking out eight batters in seven innings of work before Travis Wood took over.

Fast forward to the top half of the eighth and Ben Zobrist at the dish. Zobrist launched a towering shot to right field, clearing the stadium and depositing a pitch delivered by George Kontos into McCovey Cove.

Moments later, Jorge Soler turned on the second pitch of the at-bat and sent it to left field, making it 7-1 in favor of the visiting team. Bryant later added another RBI to his stats by driving in David Ross in the ninth.