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 The Cubs right-hander tossed six shutout innings and helped Chicago
snap a three-game losing skid with a 7-1 victory over the Atlanta
Braves.
"I don't really put much into (numbers) at all," said Arrieta, who
improved to 15-6 on the season. "The only thing that matters is
getting back on track as a team. We had a couple of tough games
against Detroit. My job and my mindset was to come out and put a
stop to that."
Arrieta won his fourth consecutive start and had his third scoreless
outing in his past four starts. He allowed four hits, struck out
seven and walked one while throwing 107 pitches, 75 for strikes.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Arrieta could have gone longer, but
under the circumstances, it was wiser to make it an earlier night.
"Jake was really good, just got his pitch numbers a little high,"
Maddon said. "Of course he's in great shape and of course he can
(continue). But our expectations are to play longer this year, and
he's not done that. I want him to be well for that moment regardless
of how they feel right now."
Cubs second baseman Chris Coghlan went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two
runs. His third-inning single scored shortstop Addison Russell with
the first run, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo added a three-run
homer for the Cubs (68-51) later in the inning.
Right-hander Mike Foltynewicz (4-5) gave up seven runs in 4 2/3
innings as Atlanta dropped its fourth straight.
"If you don't look at the numbers, I think I threw the ball OK,"
Foltynewicz said. "I think it was one of the better games I had
command of my fastball with. They just hit good pitches."
Cubs left-handed reliever Travis Wood loaded the bases with one out
in the eighth. Braves third baseman Adonis Garcia greeted
right-handed reliever Justin Grimm with a sacrifice fly to right
that scored right fielder Nick Markakis to end the shutout.
Grimm then got second baseman Jace Peterson to fly to left to end
the threat.
Four straight hits off Foltynewicz in the third inning produced a
4-0 Cubs lead.
Coghlan's one-out base hit drove home Russell for a 1-0 lead. Rizzo
followed with his 24th home run of the season on a first pitch to
right, scoring center fielder Dexter Fowler and Coghlan. It was
Rizzo's first homer in nearly a week.
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The Braves (53-68) saw manager Fredi Gonzalez get sent to the
showers in the third.
"I got ejected for balls and strikes, that's it," Gonzalez said. "I
see Folty out there getting after it, and he got a little
frustrated. I just said a few things in the dugout. It wasn't
anything crazy like that. But you can't argue balls and strikes, so
I got to watch the rest of the game on TV."
Russell extended the lead to 5-0 in the fourth, launching a 1-0
pitch to the left field bleachers for his eighth homer of the year.
The Braves threatened as Peterson singled to open the fifth, stole
second and landed at third with one out after an Arrieta wild pitch.
Left fielder Michael Bourn then walked and stole second, but Arrieta
struck out Foltynewicz, and Markakis grounded to short to end the
inning.
Left fielder Kyle Schwarber drew a walk to open the bottom of the
fifth, and Coghlan brought him home with a triple into the right
field corner for a 6-0 Cubs lead. Coghlan then scored on catcher
Miguel Montero's double off the center field wall to make it 7-0.
That was it for Foltynewicz, replaced by left-hander Andrew
McKirahan. Foltynewicz permitted eight hits and two walks while
striking out six.
NOTES: Braves OF Cameron Maybin's batting average with runners in
scoring position (.376) is sixth in the majors. ... The Braves have
used a franchise-record 56 players this year, topping the previous
mark of 50 set in 2007. ... Atlanta RHP Shelby Miller (5-9, 2.43
ERA) goes against Chicago RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-5, 3.97) on Friday
in the second game of the series. ... During a 15-8 loss to Detroit
on Wednesday, the Cubs got home runs from the top three spots in the
batting order (CF Dexter Fowler, LF Kyle Schwarber and 3B Kris
Bryant) for the first time in 11 seasons. ... The Cubs are 49-10
this season when scoring first but 15-38 when being outhit by an
opponent. ... With 10 homers, Schwarber already is tied for seventh
among National League rookies despite having played in just 37
games.
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