It got a little hairy there in the 9th, but the Cubs were able to hang on and win.
Jake Arrieta was searching for the fastball command early on once again, but by the time the third inning or so rolled around, he started really putting the pitches where he wanted, and his effectiveness reached JAKE levels. The defense behind him was superb – including four “extra” outs recorded on his behalf (a beautiful Willson Contreras pick-off at third, and three beautiful double plays) – but Arrieta did like mighty good. It was a bit of a relief after his seven-walk performance last outing, especially given how little the Padres seemed to be able to do with any Arrieta offering around the zone.[adinserter block=”1″]
Offensively, the Cubs got ANOTHER homer from Kris Bryant and ANOTHER homer from Addison Russell. Arrieta even chipped in with a triple.
In the 9th, Felix Pena was called upon to finish out the five-run win, but a strikeout, a walk, and two singles later, he was removed in favor of closer Aroldis Chapman, who was especially wild. At the end of it, the Padres had scored three runs, but Chapman struck out Christian Bethancourt to end it.
[adinserter block=”2″]
Full box score.