FITP Baseball Update: Jake Arrieta Leads Cubs to a Game 2 Win

Cubs’ Pitcher Jake Arrieta went into Game 2 of the World Series carrying a lot of pressure on his shoulders. The series was already 1-0 Cleveland, thanks to errors on the Cubs’ side and solid hitting by the Indians on Tuesday night in Game 1. And after a 6-0 loss to the Dodgers in the NLCS, everyone was anxious to see how Arrieta would handle a bigger game on a bigger stage.

It was just about perfect.

Before Arrieta took the mound on Wednesday night, the Cubs sent a strong message to the Indians that they would not go down without a fight. Kris Bryant scored the first run in the 1st inning off of a double by Anthony Rizzo. Arrieta entered the game, and the Indians were still feeling confident as Francisco Lindor and Mike Napoli were walked with two outs. But they were left stranded when Ramirez flied out to center field shortly after.

And then the bottom of the 2nd came along, and something special started to happen.

By this point, the Cubs are up 5-0 and people are starting to talk. So Fox decides they’re going to run a feature on Arrieta, his 2015 Cy Young Award, and his history of no-hitters in 2015 and 2016. They put the phrase “NO HITTER THROUGH 5 1/2” permanently on the screen.

Right after that, this happens.

I was a very unhappy Frog. Do I blame Arrieta? Nope. I totally blame Fox for their ginormous jinx. They might as well have put a goat on the mound next to Arrieta and had it chew on his uniform.

Fortunately, the Cubs’ batting was on par last night, so one run wasn’t going to hurt them. Mike Montgomery came in to relieve Arrieta, followed by Aroldis Chapman, and they both pitched well to finish out the win for the Cubs.

Today, the Cubs will return home to face the Indians at Wrigley for the next three games of the World Series. Arrieta will now sit and watch as Kyle Hendricks pitches Friday, October 28, John Lackey pitches Saturday, October 29, and Jon Lester pitches Sunday, October 30. The Cubs will be looking to use that home field advantage for all it’s worth to the end series quickly. And Arrieta will wait to see if his pitching in Game 2 will help the Cubs make history. Keep watching, Frog fans!

Arrieta’s final stats for Game 2 include 1 run on 2 hits in 5 ²⁄₃ innings pitched. He walked 3 and struck out 6. His 2016 postseason ERA is 3.78 with a WHIP of 1.08.