LDN - Sports

Arrieta earns 16th win as Cubs defeat Padres

[August 24, 2016] SAN DIEGO -- After Jake Arrieta departed Tuesday night, the Padres made a game of it.

Lost in the final line of the Cubs' 5-3 win at Petco Park was the brilliance of Arrieta over the first eight innings of the game.

"The story line is Jake," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. "He hardly ever lost the plate. His fastball command kept getting better as the game progressed. He was in command."

Arrieta shut out the Padres on two hits over eight innings Tuesday and Kris Bryant and Addison Russell each hit their second homers in as many nights at Petco Park as the Cubs held on through a shaky bottom of the ninth.

The Padres' first hit was a clean single to right by left fielder Alex Dickerson leading off the second. Catcher Christian Bethancourt doubled with two out in the eighth after Arrieta had retired 10 straight Padres.

"Arrieta kept us under wraps," said Padres manager Andy Green. "We didn't really have many good at-bats against him."

In addition to the two hits, Arrieta issued three walks. And the few runners the Padres did get against the Cubs' ace were quickly eliminated by a Chicago defense that turned three sharp double plays in a span of four innings after catcher Willson Contreras picked off the only Padre to reach third against Arrieta.

"I was mad at Joe for taking me out," said Arrieta, who had thrown only 99 pitches in the first eight innings. After all, this probably would have been his second, complete-game shutout of the season -- the first being the no-hitter he threw at Cincinnati back on April 21.

"At the same time, Joe told me, 'remember last year ... let's save something for October.' "

Arrieta improved to 16-5 -- he now leads the National League in wins -- and lowered his ERA to 2.62. He struck out six and faced only one batter over the minimum thanks to the defense that eliminated the Padres' first four runners.

Offensively, the Cubs were again led by Bryant and Russell.

Bryant drove in two Cubs' runs with his 33rd homer and a sacrifice fly and scored the first of their three run in the fifth after drawing a leadoff walk. Russell capped a three-run fifth with a two-run homer.

Meanwhile, the Cubs powered their way to a 5-0 lead against Padres starter Christian Friedrich in 5 1/3 innings.

University of San Diego grad Bryant started the assault by lining a

1-and-2 pitch 354 feet into the left-field stands with one out in the third. The homer was Bryant's 33rd of the season, keeping him in a tie with Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the National League lead. The 33 homers are the most by a Cub since Derrek Lee hit 35 in 2009.

Two innings later, Bryant triggered a three-run rally by drawing an inning-opening walk. Bryant scored on a double to right-center by Ben Zobrist. Russell followed with his 401-foot drive to left center.

Russell's 19th homer was his third in as many games, marking the first time in the shortstop's career that he homered in three straight games.

Arrieta joined in on the scoring in the sixth with help from Padres right fielder Patrick Kivlehan, who misplayed the pitcher's high drive toward the right-field corner into a triple. Arrieta scored on Bryant's sacrifice fly off reliever Brandon Morrow after Friedrich left the game.

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Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (49) pitches during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Friedrich allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks with two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings while losing his eighth straight decision to fall to 4-10. Padres manager Andy Green has said Tuesday night might have been Friedrich's last start of the season due to his innings count.

"I'm hoping they let me keep pitching," Friedrich said after the game.

Stymied by both Arrieta and the Cubs' defense over eight innings, the Padres rallied for three in the bottom of the ninth against right-handed Cubs reliever Felix Pena.

Luis Sardinas, who made his first start at shortstop, drew a leadoff walk and reached second on a single by Adam Rosales.

With one out, Wil Myers singled to right, sending Sardinas home.

Sardinas was originally called out by plate umpire Nic Lentz, but the call was quickly reversed on appeal (49 seconds) to end the shutout.

Closer Aroldis Chapman replaced Pena and gave up a sacrifice fly to Yangervis Solarte for the Padres' second run. Myers then scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-3. After issuing walks to Dickerson and Ryan Schimpf to put the tying run on, Chapman struck out Christian Betancourt to end the game on a 101-mph fastball.

The save was Chapman's eighth with the Cubs and 28th on the season.

Travis Jankowski drew a walk to open the game, advanced to second on a grounder and stole third ... only to be picked off by a rocket throw by Contreras. The Cubs then ended three of the next four innings on double-play grounders.

NOTES: Padres RHP Tyson Ross, who hasn't appeared in a game since Opening Day due to shoulder and then ankle issues, will make a 45-pit rehab outing with Class A Lake Elsinore Thursday with hopes of pitching for the Padres in September. ... Padres 2B Jemile Weeks, made his first game appearance since May 8 Monday with the Arizona Rookie Padres. Weeks has been sidelined with a hamstring injury . . . The Cubs are 17-4 in August, their highest winning percentage for the month since 1932. ... The Cubs starting pitchers are 14-1 in August with a 1.81 ERA.

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