As I lamented in a post, I wished they had waited until he had broken the record so as not to jinx him. Sure enough, Jake Arrieta pitched a gem of a game, throwing 7 scoreless, 2-hit innings against the Dodgers. BUT, neither Arrieta nor the Cubs got the win as the Dodger bats came alive against the bullpen and the Cubs bats were eerily silent.
Even though Arrieta himself was lights out, he was also getting incredible run support. In Arrieta's previous 10 starts of the season,the Cubs scored 9, 7, 6, 16, 7, 7, 4, 8, 8 and 9 runs. This time, nada. Zippy. Zilch. At least his consecutive decision streak was still alive.
Which lasted all of one more start. Arrieta gave up an uncharacteristic 3 runs to the Diamondbacks and the Cubs only managed to score two themselves. In a recent 10 game stretch, the Cubs went 8-2 and the only two losses were games started by Arrieta. How crazy is that?
As dramatic as all this sounds, I'm not in panic mode or anything. The Cubs are playing incredible baseball and are extremely fun to watch. Even if trailing in the late innings. Sometimes the law of averages just catch up.
As usual, I have extras of this one, so if you want one, let me know.
I hate when that happens. The starter has a great game and your team has a nice lead, or a shut-out. Then during the other team's half of the 7th or 8th they (the other team) has a rebounding rally that gets them caught up and eventually the lead and win. :( The homie broadcasters and newspaper reporters try to put a positive spin on it by saying it was a "quality" start. Yeah, sometimes it looks a no-no to a perfect game, but then the other LOUDER shoe hits the fan turning a possible record game into a tragic loss.
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