I feel like I have to note, for posterity, how tonight’s game started. I’m not celebrating it. I’m not rubbing it in that we all said Jake Arrieta’s time with the Cubs should’ve wrapped after that epic implosion in Milwaukee.
I just feel like it has to be pointed out what happened.
Arrieta took the mound at Wrigley Field, facing his old mates, together with his older mates, and immediately went double, hit by pitch, single, and then this:
You can’t stop @TheCUTCH22. #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/LgYb2g1c2Y
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 7, 2021
That went to script. Completely to script. The very bad script. We all expected some variation of trouble tonight, but maybe not quite that pristine. It was the farewell shot, right off the bat. I’m speechless, not because I didn’t expect struggles, but because I wouldn’t have bet on it being THAT spot on.
Because of course:
There's a stat or note for everything during this streak. Per @ESPNStatsInfo : This is the first time this season that a team has had its first four batters of the game score on a grand slam.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) July 7, 2021