Chicago Cubs: Jake Arrieta tosses six shutout innings in win over Pittsburgh

Right-hander Jake Arrieta allowed just two hits in six innings and the offense scored three runs late to lift the Chicago Cubs to a win Tuesday night.

Once the dog days of summer hit, there’s one man on the Chicago Cubs’ roster you can always count on: Jake Arrieta.

The Chicago right-hander continued his dominant stretch of starts, tossing six shutout innings of two-hit ball Tuesday night. He struck out only four and walked two. Approaching 100 pitches on the night, his shot at a win fell into the hands of his teammates.

And, boy did they ever come through.

Veteran Ben Zobrist opened the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff home run into the right-field bleachers for the first run of the night. After Kyle Schwarber drew a walk and Kris Bryant was called out on strikes, Anthony Rizzo doubled.

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With men at second and third, Chad Kuhl intentionally walked Tommy La Stella to set up the potential inning-ending double play. Instead, Alex Avila smacked a run-scoring single. Jason Heyward then delivered a sacrifice fly to give the Cubs a 3-0 edge heading into the late innings.

Arrieta gave way to veteran right-hander Koji Uehara in the top of the seventh. With one away, John Jason took him deep for a solo blast to get the Pirates on the board. After Elias Diaz singled, Joe Maddon went to another right-hander in Pedro Strop in hopes of closing out the frame.

Strop delivered, striking out pinch-hitter Jose Osuna on a slider out of the zone to end the frame and preserve the 3-1 Chicago advantage.

Rizzo drove in Bryant in the bottom of the eighth to get that run right back. Per usual, closer Wade Davis slammed the door to finish things off. He remains perfect in save opportunities on the year.

In the first two games of the series, Cubs starters have combined for 13 innings of one-run ball. Mike Montgomery pitched into the eighth Monday night before allowing said run. Rizzo leads the team with 94 runs batted in after a 3-for-4 night.

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What’s Next

Chicago and Pittsburgh conclude their three-game set on Wednesday night at the Friendly Confines.

Ivan Nova (11-11, 3.97) starts for the Pirates while Jose Quintana (8-11, 4.49) toes the rubber for the Cubs. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. CT.