Jake Arrieta receives no run support as Brewers shut out Cubs |
CHICAGO — On a day that saw Chicago Cubs (10-11) starting pitcher Jake Arrieta work himself out of multiple precarious spots, the Cubs' offense offered no run support. The Milwaukee Brewers (13-8) won the rubber match of the three-game affair at Wrigley Field on Sunday, taking 2-of-3 in the set, which they have done in all three series versus the North Siders thus far this season. Milwaukee plated five runs in the top of the ninth to pull away from Chicago. The Cubs went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and suffered a 6-0 shutout.
On a cold, blustery day at the Friendly Confines, Arrieta struggled at the start, loading the bases and walking a run before recording an out. Travis Shaw drew a walk that scored Kolten Wong, who began the contest with a leadoff double for the second straight game. The Brewers failed to hit the ball out of the infield for the remainder of the first inning, with Arrieta limiting them to just one run. Javy Baez assumed he went yard in the second, but heavy winds blowing in resulted in a fly ball being caught on the warning track in center field. Brandon Woodruff allowed the first two batters of the bottom of the fourth to reach but kept the Cubs off the scoreboard. The inning concluded in "strike 'em out, throw 'em out" fashion, as Bryant whiffed at strike three, and Omar Narvaez gunned down Ian Happ attempting to steal third. Baez committed a fielding error by having a grounder roll under his glove with no outs in the sixth. Avisail Garcia reached as a result, and Narvaez, who drew a leadoff base on balls, made it to third. Garcia stole second soon afterward, but Arrieta manned down with two runners in scoring position and zero outs by striking three batters in a row out swinging to end the half-inning. Entering the sixth inning, Arrieta had retired 15 consecutive batters. Swing and a miss strike three!#CubTogether pic.twitter.com/aqFbmljok0 Matt Duffy pinch hit for Arrieta in the bottom of the sixth and hit a leadoff single. He eventually made it around to third base but was left stranded by Anthony Rizzo striking out swinging, thus ushering in the top of the seventh. Alec Mills took the mound to begin the seventh and almost immediately gaffed by suffering a fielding error while attempting to grab a dribbler off the bat of Jackie Bradley Jr. He worked a scoreless frame, though, keeping the score at 1-0. A heads-up play by Nico Hoerner led to a double play in the top of the eighth. With Narvaez on first and nobody out, Hoerner noticed Garcia slowly ambling out of the batter's box after hitting a routine popup to the edge of the outfield grass between first and second. Therefore, Hoerner allowed the ball to fall and subsequently threw it to first base, thereby outing Garcia, who only realized his mistake in not hustling when it was already too late. Narvaez was then caught in a rundown and tagged out by Hoerner, putting a bow on the 4-3-6-4 double play. Baseball IQ, by @nico_hoerner. #CubTogether pic.twitter.com/dVjA0VKqSf Jason Adam gave the Brewers plenty of breathing room in the top of the ninth. First, he gave up a leadoff double to Billy McKinney. He then walked Bradley and hit a shaken-up Daniel Robertson in the helmet with a pitch that got away from him. Luis Urias scored McKinney and Bradley with a two-run single, and Robertson came home on an ensuing RBI double from Wong. Narvaez drew a walk that chased Adam from the game, but Dillon Maples went on to force a pair of runs home by hitting Shaw with a pitch, which plated Urias, and walking Tyrone Taylor, which plated Wong, in back-to-back plate appearances. Rizzo doubled in the bottom of the ninth but did not score, as the Brew Crew notched a 6-0 shutout. Five run ninth!#ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/LJ99bf5OZd
