The last time Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta faced the Brewers, he had a tough afternoon, allowing six runs in a season-low 1‰ innings. It was déjà vu Wednesday as Milwaukee quickly took advantage of him.
The Brewers got right to work, scoring seven runs in the first inning in their 10-0 victory. After Christian Yelich’s RBI single and another single by Willy Adames, Arrieta got Eduardo Escobar to ground out, but Milwaukee scored five more runs before making its second out of the inning.
“It’s tough,” Arrieta said after the loss. “Made quite a few good pitches, and they found holes, whether it was in the infield or the outfield. Only one or two balls were really hit hard, but it obviously accumulated. And with Corbin [Burnes] on the mound, a couple of runs is pretty much all that guy needs.’’
Kolten Wong, who led off the first inning with a double, added an RBI double to make it 7-0.
Arrieta allowed eight runs and 11 hits in four innings and has an 8.35 ERA since May 1.
The Cubs have gone to a modified six-man rotation with the arrival of left-hander Justin Steele, but it’s not unrealistic to think Arrieta might be the odd man out when right-hander Keegan Thompson returns.
While the team has given Arrieta every opportunity to get on track without removing him from the rotation, things have not gotten better.
“Me personally? Outside of being the manager, I would definitely say yeah. I would like to give him as much runway as possible,” manager David Ross said before the game. “This game is harsh at times, too. I think there are some hard realities in this game that don’t always allow that. But I think he believes in himself and wants to prove to himself every time he’s out there that he believes in his stuff and can still get big-league hitters out. And I support that, for sure.”
When asked after the game why things hadn’t gone the way he expected this season, Arrieta had a quick answer before exiting the news conference.
“I’ve got nothing for you, man,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can, and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”
Cubs’ offense no problem for Burnes
Offense hasn’t been the Cubs’ strong suit since the trade deadline, and Burnes had no issues against the Cubs’ lineup as he struck out a major-league-record-tying 10 consecutive batters. He tossed eight scoreless innings, striking out a career-high 15 batters.
