Unbeaten Arrieta tops Bucs for NL-best 7th W

CHICAGO — Jake Arrieta continued his hot streak, striking out 11 and giving up three hits over eight innings in the Cubs’ 8-2 victory over the Pirates on a chilly Saturday at Wrigley Field. Anthony Rizzo smacked a three-run homer as part of a four-RBI day, and Addison Russell added a two-run shot for the Cubs, who now have won Arrieta’s last 21 starts, extending a franchise record.

All three Pittsburgh hits off the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner came in the fourth, including a two-run single by Francisco Cervelli. The Pirates have probably seen enough of Arrieta, who is 8-1 in 11 career starts against them.

With the win, Arrieta is 18-0 with a 0.75 ERA since Aug. 1 of last season, giving up 12 earned runs over 144 1/3 innings. He helped the Cubs improve to 27-8, their best start since the 1907 team opened with that record. The Pirates have lost eight of their last 11 games.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDBreaking through: After being unable to get a hit through three innings, the Pirates came through in the fourth to score two runs. Andrew McCutchen led off the inning with a double to left field before Gregory Polanco singled to move him to third. Polanco stole second and both runners later scored on a single by Cervelli. All three hits came on Arrieta sliders, and it was the first time Arrieta has given up more than one run in a start against the Pirates since September 2013.

Fourth inning: Pirates starter Jeff Locke had given up one single over the first three innings, and the Cubs finally …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com