Arrieta throws 8 scoreless innings as Cubs beat Rockies

Jake Arrieta was pretty peeved about a walk he allowed in the eighth inning Saturday.

Even with a five-run lead late in the game, Arrieta wouldn’t give himself a break.

“We try to be robots even though we’re not,” Arrieta said afterward.

Are you sure about that, Jake?

No major-league pitcher has been as automatic as Arrieta during the last calendar year. He seems practically incapable of committing “human error,” as a robot might say.

Arrieta, the 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner, pitched eight scoreless innings in a 6-2 victory against the Rockies at Wrigley Field. He extended his franchise-record quality-start streak to 23 games, which is the longest streak in the majors since Bob Gibson’s 26 in a row in 1968.

He struck out eight, walked one and gave up only five hits. Arrieta forced eight ground-ball outs and let only five balls out of the infield.

The right-hander has been even more dominant at home during his impressive streak. Arrieta hasn’t allowed a run at Wrigley in 48‰ regular-season innings.

“I didn’t know that,” Arrieta said with a straight — almost robotic — face. “That is pretty good.”

The scoreless streak at Wrigley is the longest in the history of the Friendly Confines and the longest for any pitcher at his home ballpark since at least 1974.

Arrieta has won his three starts this year and lowered his ERA to 1.23.

“He’s calm,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s very calm. He’s always very calm. I think that’s part of his success, too.”

It was clear from the start that the Rockies were in for a long day. Arrieta struck out the side in the first inning on 13 pitches.

Arrieta only found himself in trouble once, surrendering a leadoff double to Rockies catcher Dustin Garneau in the third inning. Two groundouts and a strikeout ended the threat.

Arrieta didn’t allow any other runners to reach third, and only one reached second during the rest of his start.

“Typical Jake,” catcher David Ross said. “Mixed pitches well and had everything working.”

What’s “typical” for Arrieta, though, is unprecedented for the Cubs.

Arrieta owns a career 1.94 ERA at Wrigley, the lowest by a Cub in the ballpark’s history. He also has won 14 consecutive decisions, which is two behind Rick Sutcliffe’s franchise record set in 1985.

Arrieta got support from Anthony Rizzo and Jorge Soler, who hit back-to-back home runs on the first two pitches of the fourth inning.

Dexter Fowler broke the game open with a three-run blast in the seventh.

The offensive blitz and Arrieta’s dominance helped wash away the sour taste left by the Cubs’ four-error, four-hit loss Friday.

The Cubs’ 9-2 start is their best since starting 10-1 in 1969.

But that probably won’t make Arrieta feel any better about his eighth-inning walk.

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