In the first inning, as has happened too often this season, Jake Arrieta gave up a two-run homer. Gregory Polanco was the offending party, and it put the Cubs in an early hole.
They would not climb out of that hole for several innings, and not without Arrieta having to do his own dirty work, yanking a two-run shot out to left field (via Fox Sports):
#PITCHERSWHORAKE! TIE GAME!
Jake Arrieta blasts a 2-run homer for the @Cubs, tying the Pirates at 2. #CHCvsPIT 💪💪💪 pic.twitter.com/SnnwO49ZAi
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 18, 2017
Pitchers who Jake. The ball wasn’t absolutely crushed (98 mph off the bat, 380 feet), but he hit it to the right spot.
Arrieta has now homered in three straight seasons, having hit two in each of 2015 and 2016.
Unfortunately, on the pitching side of things, he once again totally lost his command in the 5th inning (thumb problems again, I wonder?), and departed after giving the Pirates back the lead. We’ll see how the rest of the game plays out, but now the Cubs are without his bat …