Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta has put up some pretty obscene numbers this season, but after his strong performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, he entered truly rarified air.
Arrieta ended up pitching seven shutout innings for the Cubs in the game, running his scoreless innings streak at Wrigley Field to 40 and 2/3rds innings. That number is a new record for any pitcher at the Friendly Confines, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, breaking the 37 inning streak of Cardinals great Bob Gibson during the mid-1960’s.
While Arrieta won’t have an opportunity to add onto that record this season (the Cubs are playing their final home game of the regular season on Monday night at Wrigley Field), he does have an opportunity to set another record this season. He has an ERA of 0.80 after July’s All-Star Game, which would be the lowest second-half ERA in MLB history if he can maintain the number.
Arrieta’s run of success has certainly been a huge boost for the Cubs, but could it potentially lead him to winning some hardware after the season? ESPN’s Stats and Info thinks so:
Our #CyYoung predictor has @Cubs' Jake Arrieta in the NL lead after Sunday: http://t.co/oiOt2qNOru pic.twitter.com/3fuRjfh9jV — ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 28, 2015
Arrieta will get one final start for the Cubs in the regular season as he takes the hill on Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.
