The Walk Off: Jake Arrieta extends personal winning streak to 19
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
Two of baseball’s most impressive streaks came together on Friday night in San Francisco.
In one corner, Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta stood to defend his personal 18-game winning streak. In the other corner, the San Francisco Giants put their MLB-best eight-game winning streak on the line. Something had to give, and like every other regular season start dating back to last July 25, it wasn’t Jake Arrieta.
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Chicago’s right-hander pitched seven dominant innings, limiting the Giants to one run on four hits while striking out eight in the Cubs 8-1 win.
As he so often does, Arrieta also contributed with the bat, knocking in the Cubs first run with an RBI single.
He’s simply playing at a level that no one can match right now, let alone defeat, and he continues conquering every challenge put in front of him.
Literally.
Those numbers aren’t just great, they’re insane. Especially when you consider the Braves and Twins have combined to win just 21 times this season in 82 games. Sure, that says a lot about their futility, but it highlights again how truly dominate Arrieta has been dating back to last season’s All-Star break.
Remember, the last time he lost was against the Philadelphia Phillies, in a game when Cole Hamels pitched a no-hitter. Since then, Arrieta has pitched two no-hitters, and there’s no end to his roll in sight.
The next team that will get a crack is the Cardinals next Wednesday afternoon in St. Louis. We don’t envy them one bit.
TOP PERFORMERS
Freddie Freeman: It’s news these days when the Philaelphia Phillies lose, and they lost 7-1 to the Braves thanks largely to Freeman. Atlanta’s first baseman connected for a pair of two-run home runs. The first came against red-hot Phillies starter Aaron Nola in the third inning. The second against Brett Oberholtzer in the ninth. Freeman now has eight homers this season, while the rest of his teammates have a combined 10.
Colby Lewis: The Texas Rangers right-hander continued his strong start to the season with seven scoreless innings in a 2-1 win against the Astros. Lewis allowed four hits and struck out six to improve to 3-0. He’s pitched at least six innings in all nine starts this season, while pitching exactly seven in each of his last five. His season ERA is 2.75.
[Report: MLB nearing changes to strike zone and intentional walks]
Carlos Beltran: The veteran slugger had all of the doubles on Friday. Well, actually, he only had three, but they were three big doubles in the Yankees 8-3 win against the A’s. Beltran doubled in the first, then he knocked in two with a double in the fourth, then he knocked in one more with a double in the sixth. That gave him three RBIs and 11 doubles for the season. It also helped CC Sabathia earn his 100th win in a Yankees uniform.
Dae-Ho Lee: Seattle’s rookie had a pretty good day for a pinch-hitter. Entering the game in the seventh inning for Adam Lind, Lee smacked a two-run single that broke a tie. Then, two innings, he delivered a solo home run to cap the games scoring and secure a Mariners 8-3 win in Cincinnati.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
Jackie Bradley Jr. extended his hitting streak to 25 games with a solo home run against Corey Kluber. He also walked twice, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Corey Kluber and Indians. Cleveland won the game 4-2.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
Mets 3, Brewers 2: The week started with concern about Steve Matz’s elbow. It ends with Matz pitching a gem. He allowed two runs on three hits over seven innings and added eight strikeouts.
Pirates 2, Rockies 1: Pittsburgh ace Gerrit Cole allowed 10 hits but only one run over innings. The Pirates have now won eight straight against Colorado at PNC Park.
Rays 7, Tigers 5: Despite two home runs from Miguel Cabrera, the Rays never trailed. They got homers from Steven Souza Jr. and Steve Pearce.
Nationals 4, Marlins 1: Washington got another solid start from Tanner Roark, who allowed one run over 6 2/3 inning. The Nationals have won three straight.
Blue Jays 9, Twins 3: Minnesota is now an MLB-worst 10-31. Ouch.
Royals 4, White Sox 1: Kansas City is back over .500 at 21-20. Paulo Orlando knocked in two in support of Dillon Gee, who allowed one run over five innings.
Diamondbacks 11, Cardinals 7: Position player pitching alert. Cardinals shortstop Ruben Tejada made his pitching debut, allowing home runs to Chris Herrmann and Brandon Drury in the ninth inning.
Orioles 9, Angels 4: Mark Trumbo (13th), Manny Machado (12), Chris Davis (10) and Joey Rickard (4) all homered as the Orioles reclaim first place in the AL East.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
