Jake Arrieta had both his arm and his bat working at their best as he and the Chicago Cubs (47-40) defeated their Windy City rivals, the Chicago White Sox (41-45), 3-1 to salvage the third game of the weekend series.
Arrieta (W: 10-5, 2.66 ERA) pitched his second complete game of the season in earning his 10th victory. His finished just as strongly as he started as he struck out the side in both the first and the ninth innings in collecting six of his nine strikeouts on the day. His other three all came in the second and third innings.
With no more strikeouts until the ninth, Arrieta -- who did not walk a single batter -- kept his pitch count down enough to complete the game. Arrieta threw 106 pitches in nine innings, allowing only two hits and one earned run.
With his team leading 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Arrieta added some insurance of his own as he smacked his first Major League home run (1), a solo shot off White Sox starter Jose Quintana.
Although he did not make the All-Star team, Arrieta is tied for second in the National League with 10 wins heading into the All-Star break, and he is eighth in ERA.
Quintana (L: 4-9, 3.69) pitched well in taking the loss. Quintana allowed three earned runs on eight hits in 7 1/3 innings. Like his counterpart, he also struck out nine and did not walk anyone.
The Cubs got on the board with two runs in the first inning thanks to Kris Bryant's fourth triple of the year, which scored Dexter Fowler, and Jorge Soler's RBI single that brought in Bryant. Fowler led off the inning with a single and scored when Bryant's drive got past left fielder Melky Cabrera (video).
The White Sox scored their lone run in the top of the sixth on Adam Eaton's RBI sacrifice bunt that brought in Carlos Sanchez, who opened the inning with a double. Only Sanchez and rookie Tyler Saladino managed hits off Arrieta. Saladino singled in the fourth.
At the break, the Cubs sit in third place in the National League Central division at 8.0 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals and 5.5 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates for both second place and the top National League Wild Card spot. The Cubs hold the second spot by one game over the New York Mets.
After the break, the Cubs begin a seven-game road trip with the Atlanta Braves for three beginning Friday and the Cincinnati Reds for four, including a double-header on Wednesday, July 22.
Meanwhile, the Southsiders are in fifth place in the A.L. Central, 11 games behind the Kansas City Royals, and seventh in the race for the second American League Wild Card spot, five games out.
The White Sox will host the Royals for four games in three days beginning with a Friday day-night double-header. They finish their home stand with two against the Cardinals on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Cubs and White Sox meet again for three more at U.S. Cellular Field from August 14-16.