|
 Arrieta gave up a one-out double to left-center in the eighth
inning but otherwise kept Cincinnati hitters off balance as he
struck out 13 and walked just one in the Cubs' victory at Wrigley
Field.
"It was nice to shake the catcher's hand at the end of a game," said
Arrieta. "It's an exciting night, it's a lot of fun and one that
I'll remember for a long time."
Arrieta (9-5) tossed 7 1/3 no-hit innings before giving up a double
to left-center to Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips on an 0-2
pitch in the eighth.
He threw 109 pitches -- 74 for strikes -- and struck out a
career-high 13 in his longest outing in five big league seasons.
"As a baseball fan, this is one of the things when you come to the
ballpark that you get a chance to see something pretty special,"
Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "And I thought that outing was
pretty special. ... What a great performance."
It was the second time this season that Arrieta took a no-hitter
into the eighth. On June 30, he no-hit the Red Sox through 7 2/3
innings and was able to draw on that experience on Tuesday.
"I was able to slow the game down a little bit more in this type of
situation having a couple of experiences similar to this," Arrieta
said. "Obviously everyone knows what's going on, but
pitch-after-pitch (I was) trying to execute with quality stuff in
the zone and not missing over the heart of the plate."
Arrieta also helped his cause with a third-inning double and also
scored a run.
While Arrieta kept the Reds off balance, his teammates scored five
runs in the sixth to chase right-handed Reds starter Johnny Cueto
(18-9).
The Cubs made it 2-0 in the sixth when Cueto loaded the bases with
no one out and forced home third baseman Luis Valbuena when he
walked first baseman Chris Valaika.
Cueto forced home Cubs catcher Welington Castillo for a 3-0 lead
with a one-out walk to center fielder Matt Szczur. Left fielder
Chris Coughlan then cleared the bases with a double to deep
left-center as the Cubs opened a 6-0 lead.
That was all for Cueto, who allowed six earned runs on five hits and
struck out eight and walked five in 5 2/3 innings.
Right fielder Jorge Soler made it 7-0 with a solo homer -- his fifth
-- on an 0-2 pitch with one out in the seventh.
Coughlan went 2-for-3 with three RBIs while Soler was 2-for-3 with
two RBIs.
The Cubs opened a 1-0 lead in the third as Arrieta scored on Soler's
one out fielder's choice grounder to third base.
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Arrieta, a .219 hitter, doubled to right center to open the inning
and Cueto eventually loaded the bases for Soler's one-out RBI ground
out.
Arrieta struck out the side to open the game and had four more
strikeouts through the fifth inning while allowing just one
baserunner.
Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton walked to open the fourth. But he
was caught stealing as Castillo fired to second baseman Logan
Watkins to tag Hamilton.
Reds manager Bryan Price said his team needs to generate a better
attack.
"I thought Arrieta was excellent and Woody (Travis Wood) pitched a
nice ballgame yesterday," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "If we're
going to win consistently we've got to be able to compete a little
better offensive against the really good pitchers.
"I think we're better than two base runners and one batter over the
minimum in nine innings."
NOTES: Through an injury-plagued season, the Reds have used 121
lineups. Fifteen players were on the disabled list at various times.
... Cincinnati sends RHP Daniel Corcino (0-0, 5.19 ERA) against Cubs
RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-2, 2.38 ERA) in Wednesday's series finale. ...
The Cubs announced they renewed their Triple-A agreement with Iowa
and signed a new pact with high Class A Myrtle Beach. Still up in
the air is low Class A amid reports that they Cubs might leave
Midwest League champion Kane County, Ill., for a possible switch to
South Bend, Ind. ... New security measures were introduced this week
at Wrigley Field, with fans now going through metal detectors at
park entrances. ... C Kyle Schwarber, selected fourth overall by the
Cubs in this year's draft, visited Wrigley Field and took batting
practice prior to the game. He hit a combined .344 with 18 homers
and 53 RBIs in 72 games for three Chicago farm teams this season.
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