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Paired with Montero, Arrieta finds his groove
- Updated: September 24, 2016
CHICAGO — Cubs catcher Miguel Montero had a message for Jake Arrieta before the right-hander took the mound on Friday.
“I said, ‘I need you to pick up the tempo, I need you to go,'” Montero said. “‘Let me do the thinking, you do the throwing. I want you to keep on moving. I don’t want you to sit there, because everybody falls asleep. I want you to keep on going. Don’t give the hitters much time to think. I want you to just go.'”
Arrieta did that, striking out 10 over seven scoreless innings in the Cubs’ 5-0 victory over the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. It was the first time Montero has caught Arrieta since Aug. 6 at Oakland, when the right-hander threw eight scoreless innings in an Interleague win. Rookie Willson Contreras had been behind the plate for six games since then, and David Ross caught another. Why the switch?
“I wanted to see it, and Miggy did a great job,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who is sorting out his combinations in advance of the National League Division Series. “[Arrieta] responded well to him.”
With the win, Arrieta now is tied with teammate Jon Lester and the Nationals’ Max Scherzer for the most wins in the NL with 18. Montero is no stranger to Arrieta; he caught his first career …
