NEWSLETTER
The Cubs can do no worse than a series split against the White Sox, which, I know, isn’t much, but is oddly comforting. This series is always weird, so I usually expect the worst.
For a couple innings, it looked like James Shields was going to do what he did to the Cubs on this day last year, when he dominated (despite being generally awful otherwise to that point), but the bats eventually broke out, and then just kept tacking on throughout the night.
Jake Arrieta had some of the best movement on his pitches I can remember this season, and although the command was not perfect, he was mostly around the zone, where the White Sox could not put consistent solid contact on him. Even the pitch Yoan Moncada sent out for his first career homer was a pretty nice looking curveball.
On the whole, it was another good performance by Jake Arrieta, who has now put together a very solid run, despite the persistence of his reduced velocity. The early-season hard contact in the air, most notably, has faded.
Mike Montgomery worked out of the bullpen to finish up the game, and he, too, looked good, striking out five of the seven outs he recorded.
With the win, and the Brewers’ loss, the Cubs slide into sole possession of first place in the NL Central!
