Chicago Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta put together another marvelous performance Tuesday night to further his case as a front-runner for the NL CY Young Award. In a 4-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, Arrieta picked up his 20th victory of the season as he pitched a complete game shutout. Arrieta is the first Cubs pitcher to reach 20 wins since Jon Lieber back in 2001.
“I’ve alluded to it before but it just means that I’m putting my teams in positions to win ballgames,” said Arrieta postgame. “At the end of the day, that’s our goal, is to try and pile on as many as we can especially with where we’re at in the season.”
While Arrieta became the first 20-game winner in the major leagues, NL Rookie of the Year candidate Kris Bryant powered the offense with a 3-for-4, three RBI night. Two of those runs came on one swing of the bat, as Bryant belted his 26th home run of the season to left center field.
Bryant’s homer set the Cubs’ rookie home run record that was previously held by Hall of Famer Billy Williams, who hit 25 home runs back in 1961 and was named the Rookie of the Year. The Cubs third baseman would receive a curtain call after his amazing accomplishment.
“That was a special moment for me to get up on the steps and get that recognition,” said Bryant postgame. “It was something I’ll never forget.”
Here is a video that captures Bryant's magical rookie campaign with all 26 home runs (Link).
Jake Arrieta (20-6, 1.88 ERA) completely overmatched the Brewers lineup as he went nine innings where he allowed only three base hits, only one of which was for extra bases. The Cubs’ ace fanned 11 Brewers hitters, walked only one, and at one point retired 14 straight batters.
Arrieta also went 1-for-3 at the plate with a single to center field in the seventh.
This was the fourth time this season Arrieta reached double-digit strikeouts, the last coming August 30th when he threw a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Chicago took a 2-0 lead in the third inning with Bryant’s aforementioned two-run shot off of Brewers starter Tyler Cravy (0-8, 6.21 ERA). Cravy would take the loss as he lasted only four innings where he allowed two runs on three hits, while walking two and striking out three.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Kyle Schwarber, who finished the night 2-for-3 with two runs, would drive in Dexter Fowler with a double to shallow right field to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead. Kris Bryant would drive in his third run of the night in the eighth inning with a double to deep center to score Schwarber, extending the lead to 4-0.
Despite Los Angeles Dodgers starter Zack Greinke putting up a season where he holds an 18-3 record and 1.65 ERA and is the favorite for the NL CY Young, Arrieta is right on his heals as he is 20-6 with a 1.88 ERA. Greinke has a lower WHIP of 0.85 to Arrieta’s 0.90, but the Cubs right-hander has compiled more punch outs with 220 to Greinke’s 185. If you decide a CY Young winner with what they have done lately, Arrieta is 10-1 with a 0.86 ERA since the All-Star break.