Chicago Cubs first inning woes continue in 5-4 loss to Red Sox

The Chicago Cubs Jake Arrieta struggled in the first inning, allowing five early runs. While he did settle in, the damage was already done as the Cubs couldn’t complete the comeback in the 5-4 loss at Fenway.

It started with a storybook first at-bat as the Chicago Cubs‘ Kris Bryant homered over the Green Monster. But the bottom half of the inning turned into a nightmare as Jake Arrieta allowed five runs in the bottom half. It started with an Andrew Benintendi home run, and it went off the rails for Arrieta from there.

The Cubs (12-10) starter lasted just 4 1/3 innings while throwing 98 pitches. Arrieta (3-1, 4.66) stuck around after that terrible first inning, but the damage was done by that point. He struggled with command, and when he missed, the Red Sox made him pay.

The Red Sox (12-10) got a superb start from Drew Pomeranz (2-1, 4.15) as he allowed just two runs over six innings while striking out seven. Bryant’s home run, as well as Albert Almora‘s, was all he would surrender to the Cubs. But they would get to the Red Sox bullpen to make it interesting once again.

Joe Kelly surrendered a wild pitch allowing Almora to score, making it a 5-3 Sox lead. Then Ben Zobrist lined a single to center to score Anthony Rizzo and cut the lead to 5-4. Fernando Abad and Craig Kimbrel would finish the job to beat the Cubs.

What stood out

More pitching struggles in the first inning. It’s becoming less of an anomaly and more of the norm. Kyle Hendricks was one of the only ones to avoid it in his last start. The rest of the rotation can’t seem to shake whatever it is that’s afflicting this staff. The Cubs will need to pull themselves off the mat in the rest of this weekend series.

Next: A check on the Cubs' top prospects

What’s Next

The Cubs will face the Red Sox at 3:05 p.m. CT tomorrow as John Lackey (1-3, 4.88) faces off against the Red Sox Steven Wright (1-2, 8.66).