A Tip of the Recap – 8/6 (Cubs 4, Athletics 0)
Cubs Record: 68-41 (1st in the NL Central)
W: Jake Arrieta (13-5, 2.59 ERA)
L: Sonny Gray (5-11. 5.74 ERA)
Let’s party like it’s 1981!
That’s the theme the Cubs channeled in Oakland today as they faced the Athletics in throwback uniforms!
The Northsiders came out victorious, pulling off a 4-0 win over the A’s.
The scoring started in the 3rd inning when Cubs had men on second and third with two outs. Ben Zobrist came up and smacked a single to center, plating both runs and putting the Cubs up 2-0.
Then in the 6th, Anthony Rizzo led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a soft ground out by Ben Zobrist. Next up was Addison Russell, who hit a slow roller that stayed just fair inside the third base bag, allowing Rizzo to score and put the Cubs up 3-0.
Jorge Soler stepped up to the plate and hit a ground ball right past the third baseman for a double, scoring Russell and giving the Cubs a 4-0 cushion.
The Cubs didn’t need many runs with Jake Arrieta was pitching. He threw eight strong shutout innings to pick up his first win since the end of June. Of his 108 pitches, 66 were strikes.
The Good
Jorge Soler played his second game back from a lengthy DL stay for a hamstring injury. He was able to give the Cubs an extra run to pad their lead and make it more comfortable. Soler also showed his power Friday by hitting a three-run bomb in his first at-bat.
Jake Arrieta was just really, really good today. He had been 0-3 with two no decisions in his last five starts, but shook all of that off as he did business on the mound today. He walked one man and allowed only four scattered hits over eight innings. With this shutout victory, Arrieta was able to bring his ERA to 2.59.
The Bad
The Cubs had a few great chances on the bases that they just wasted today. In the second inning, they had two men on with nobody out and were unable to get anything out of that ideal situation. In all, the Cubs had 22 runners left on base while A’s only had nine.
Athletics right fielder Danny Valencia was called safe at first in the 7th inning even though the throw from Bryant beat him to the bag at first. Thankfully, the call was overturned due to replay.
Coming attractions
The Cubs look to sweep the series tomorrow with Kyle Hendricks on the mound. Hendricks has been a tool for the Cubs lately as he just established his career high in wins at 10. He also has the lowest home ERA in all of baseball. In his last start, Hendricks went the distance for his second career shutout. Cubs will face A’s rookie lefty Sean Manaea who has never faced anyone on this current Cubs roster.
