Cubs Cruise to Sixth Straight Win, Jake Being Jake

Jake Arrieta (13-5, 2.59 ERA) looked as good as he has in a while today as he led the Chicago Cubs (68-41) to a 4-0 win (Box Score) over the Oakland Athletics (48-62). Jake allowed only two hits through the first five innings.  He allowed only one hit thereafter and cruised through eight innings this afternoon, throwing 108 pitches on the day.

Picking up where we left off after our in-game report, with the Cubs up 2-0 after five innings, Anthony Rizzo pounded a laser to right center field to open the sixth inning for the Cubs. The ball bounded off the wall and just narrowly missed going out of the yard. Rizzo would advance to third on a Ben Zobrist ground out.

Up next, Addison Russell hit a swinging bunt that A’s third baseman Ryon Healy decided to let roll. Bad decision, as the ball stayed fair and slowly came to a rest on the infield. Rizzo scored and Russell was safe at first base. After a Jason Heyward fly out, Jorge Soler came up and doubled just past the Healy. That made the score 4-0.

Stats that mattered

• Jake was back to being Jake – 8.0 IP 0R, 3H, 1BB, 4Ks
• Ben Zobrist drove in 2 runs on his double in the second inning – 2-for5, 2RBIs
• Addison Russell got a couple hits and is playing well lately – 2-for-4, 1R, 1RBI

Bottom line

The Cubs dominated every facet of the game today. They did exactly what you’d expect to happen when the team with the best record in baseball plays a team that’s near the bottom of the American League. It’s easy to set lofty expectations and it’s usually even easier to not live up to them. Right now, the Cubs are doing the little things right and executing flawlessly.

Next up

The Cubs go for the sweep over the Athletics tomorrow afternoon at 3:05 PM CDT. Kyle Hendricks (10-7, 2.22 ERA) will be pitching for the Cubs.