Jake to rescue? Ace returns to scene of no-no for slumping Cubs

MIAMI – If Jake Arrieta is going to come to the Cubs’ rescue after their worst week of baseball in almost two years, he probably couldn’t ask for a better place to do the hero thing – and fix some of his own issues along the way.

Against the free-falling, last-place Reds, the National League’s reigning Cy Young Award winner makes his first start in Cincinnati on Monday since his no-hitter there in April.

Trying to right a Cubs stretch that includes six losses in the last seven games, Arrieta also is coming off a short-inning loss to the Cardinals, after which he vowed to make what he called an “easy fix.”

Mostly that’s about rediscovering enough command early in counts to get ahead, stay ahead, make hitters swing and keep his pitch counts lower.

Arrieta has lasted just five innings in five of his 11 starts since the no-hitter in Cincinnati.

“I don’t know if that’s going to be cured right now, but I have a lot of faith that he will figure out the command on his fastball, and then we’ll keep moving it on forward from there,” said manager Joe Maddon, who pointed out that Arrieta’s historic 20-start run to finish last season (0.86 ERA in those starts) began about this time in the season.

“A lot of times history repeats itself with these guys,” Maddon said. “I’m not worried about it. His stuff’s been great.”