August 31, 2015 Cubs.Com Jake Show: Arrieta No-Hits
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
August 31, 2015 Cubs.com Jake Show: Arrieta no-hits Dodgers in LA By Carrie Muskat and Ken Gurnick LOS ANGELES -- Seven times in his final 18 starts of 2014, Jake Arrieta took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, but it wasn't until Sunday night against the Dodgers that the Cubs right-hander finished the job. And it was deja vu for the Dodgers. Arrieta threw his first career no-hitter to win his Major League-leading 17th game, and Kris Bryant hit a two-run homer to power the Cubs to a 2-0 victory over the Dodgers, snapping a four-game Chicago losing streak. Arrieta struck out 12 in his 14th consecutive quality start and finished the month of August with a perfect 6-0 mark. "It's tough to put it into words," Arrieta said. "You think about it all the time, and as a kid, and you see other guys around the league do it and you want to be a part of that. It's not only special for me and my family and friends, but the organization and my teammates." The only baserunners were Kiké Hernandez, who reached on Starlin Castro's error with one out in the third, and Jimmy Rollins, who walked with two outs in the sixth. "I thought it was a hit," Arrieta said about Hernandez's at-bat. "It was a tough play, a short hop. I think it was a cutter away. I thought it could've gone either way. I wasn't aware it was an error until an inning or two later." "He has that kind of stuff nightly -- it's really crazy," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Arrieta. "The ball looks like a Wiffle ball from the side. You can see the break on the slider and the cutter and the curveball. Right now, he's pitching on another level. And he deserves it." It's the second time this month that the Dodgers have been no-hit; the Astros' Mike Fiers shut them down on Aug. 21 in Houston. Arrieta's no-no is the first by a Cubs pitcher since Carlos Zambrano did so Sept. 14, 2008, against the Astros in a game played at Miller Park in Milwaukee. "It's something everybody wants," Arrieta said. "Every kid thinks about it. Little League, high school, college, Minor Leagues, you think about it. It's almost impossible not to. Everybody who plays this game wants to accomplish great things and pitch at a high level. It's something I've wanted for a long time. I've been close on a couple occasions. Everything aligned right tonight and I was able to get it done." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Glovework: Castro's fielding error in the third led to the Dodgers' first baserunner. Hernandez hit a ball that handcuffed Castro, and he couldn't get a grip on it to make a play. "If I backhand it or something like that, maybe it could be a hit," Castro said. "It was right at me. I think that's an error." But Castro did save a potential hit when he snared Carl Crawford's liner on the run to end the seventh. This was Castro's eighth start at second. A three-time All-Star at shortstop, he was moved in favor of rookie Addison Russell. Russell robbed Hernandez of a possible hit with a smooth pickup while running across the infield to end the eighth. Power rookie: Bryant hit his fourth home run on the road and first away from Wrigley Field since June 17 when he connected in the first. Bryant leads all Major League rookies in RBIs (79), and is closing in on Billy Williams' franchise record for most homers by a rookie, 25 in 1961. Third-base tryout: In his first test of his first start of the year at third base, Hernandez fielded Dexter Fowler's roller and his throw pulled first baseman Adrian Gonzalez off the bag, although it was scored as an infield single. Chris Denorfia followed with a two-out single, but Dodgers starter Alex Wood struck out Bryant. Wood rights ship: Wood made 72 pitches through the first three innings and appeared headed toward a bullpen- taxing early exit, but allowed only one hit after that and made it through six innings with two runs allowed for a quality start. "Alex kind of settled down," said manager Don Mattingly. "After 70-something pitches through three innings, it could have been a little bit of a disaster for us using too many relievers, but he got through it. That's what he does. He hung in there and kept pitching." SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Arrieta is the first Cubs pitcher to post quality starts in 14 consecutive games since Greg Maddux did so in 1992, when Maddux won the first of his four Cy Young awards. Arrieta also joins the Red Sox's Joe Kelly as the only pitchers in baseball with six wins in August. And, Arrieta is the first Cubs pitcher to reach 17 wins since Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly both did so in 2008, which was the last time Chicago made the playoffs. WHAT'S NEXT Cubs: Kyle Hendricks will try to get back on track Monday night at Wrigley Field when the Cubs open a three-game series against the Reds. Hendricks has a 3.55 ERA in 11 home starts compared to 4.56 ERA on the road. He lost his last outing, against the Giants, giving up four runs over six innings. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT. Dodgers: Kicking off the showdown series with the Giants in a 7:10 p.m. PT start is Brett Anderson, who pitched the Dodgers into the seventh inning in his most recent start, against the Reds, with all three runs charged against him unearned. Anderson is only 1-4 in his career against the Giants, but the win came for the Dodgers in June. -- Cubs.com No-hit Arrieta 'pitching on another level' By Carrie Muskat LOS ANGELES -- Jake Arrieta remembers his grandfather telling him about watching Nolan Ryan throw one of his no-hitters. "That's something he'll always remember and relish and really be grateful that he was a part of," Arrieta said. Now, 46,679 fans at Dodger Stadium and those watching on television can say they saw Arrieta join Ryan, Sandy Koufax and other elite pitchers who have accomplished the feat. Arrieta threw his first career no-hitter and picked up his Major League-leading 17th win Sunday night in a 2-0 Cubs victory over the Dodgers. The right-hander struck out 12, including the side in the ninth, although he wasn't certain that's how the game ended. Arrieta had to ask some of his teammates what happened. "We were doing a toast and he asked if the last three outs were all strikeouts," pitcher Dan Haren said. "He said it was going so fast he didn't realize it. I'm sure the adrenaline was going." Arrieta has come close before. Seven times in his last 18 starts of 2014, he took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. "As the game wore on, I tried to use the past experiences to my advantage," Arrieta said. "I tried to stay calm and maintain the focus on just going out there and executing quality pitch after quality pitch." He's come a long way from Baltimore. The Cubs acquired him in July 2013 from the Orioles, and last season, he tied his career high with 10 wins. He could double that total this year. The difference? Fastball command. Cubs manager Joe Maddon saw the potential when he faced the right-hander in the American League. Sunday was the culmination of a team effort. "For those around him, it's not surprising at all," Maddon said. "It's a combination of Jake's skill, his drive, and who he is combined with some really awesome and detailed instruction from [pitching coach] Chris Bosio and [coach] Mike Borzello and [bullpen coach] Lester Strode. Give [catcher Miguel Montero] credit, too." This was Montero's second no-hitter; he also caught Edwin Jackson when he posted one with the D-backs. However, Montero was a little nervous because Arrieta was "brutal" in warmups. "We'd lost four in a row and I thought maybe he's trying too hard," Montero said. Arrieta did just fine. It was not a perfect game. The Dodgers' Kiké Hernandez reached on an error by Starlin Castro with one out in the third, and Arrieta walked Jimmy Rollins with two outs in the sixth. "As I've matured and gotten older, I've developed an understanding that what happens in the pregame and the bullpen doesn't dictate anything leading into the game," Arrieta said. "Once you get in between the lines, just execute. That's the only focus. That's the mindset I carried into games." We'll talk about tomorrow, but damn, that was fun. @Cubs — Jake Arrieta (@JArrieta34) August 31, 2015 Arrieta is the 10th Cubs pitcher since 1900 to throw a no-no, and the first since Carlos Zambrano did so in September 2008. "He has that kind of stuff nightly -- it's really crazy," Maddon said of Arrieta. "The ball looks like a Wiffle ball from the side. You can see the break on the slider and the cutter and the curveball. Right now, he's pitching on another level. And he deserves it." The Cubs dubbed this past week "Cy Young Week" because they had to face Corey Kluber, Jake Peavy and Clayton Kershaw as well as World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner.