Pirates can't hit Arrieta, fall to Cubs 7-1

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Clint Hurdle gave Matt Joyce the start in right field against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night, pointing to the outfielder's impressive numbers against Chicago ace Jake Arrieta earlier in Joyce's career.

Joyce's last at-bat with Arrieta on the mound before Tuesday came in 2013, back when Arrieta was struggling in Baltimore. Those days are long gone.

"He's facing a different guy now," Arrieta said.

So is everyone else.

Seven months after getting shut down by Arrieta in the NL wild-card playoff, the Pirates managed just two singles in seven innings against the reigning Cy Young winner in a lopsided 7-1 loss.

"You see a guy like make it look easy and it's not," Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. "The hitters are going up there trying to do things and he just counterpunches."

Arrieta (6-0) struck out five and walked two while lowering his ERA to 0.84. He became the second six-game winner in the major leagues after Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox. Kris Bryant had three hits for the Cubs, who have won seven of eight and moved five games ahead of Pittsburgh in the NL Central. The Pirates have dropped three straight following a six-game winning streak.

Jon Niese (3-1) gave up six runs and nine hits over five innings while losing for the first time since Pittsburgh acquired him from the New York Mets in an offseason trade. Niese has benefited from the second-best run support in the NL, one of the reasons he came in with his loss column still spotless.

Not anymore. Niese walked five, struck out three and never got comfortable against Chicago's formidable lineup. Niese watched video after exiting looking for answers.

"I figured something had to be off for as good as I'm feeling out there but not getting results," Niese said. "There are some mechanical issues, stuff that I can work on in between starts. I think it's going to help."

Two starts removed from his second career no-hitter, Arrieta kept on going. His only real trouble spot came in the first, when he issued consecutive walks to John Jaso and Andrew McCutchen. A strikeout, a fielder's choice and a harmless grounder back to the mound later, Arrieta had his bearings. The Pirates could do little to stop him, producing only singles by Sean Rodriguez in the second and Francisco Cervelli in the seventh before Arrieta left with a 6-0 lead.

"He doesn't get out of his zone," said Joyce, who went 0 for 3. "I read after the game that this was the first time in his career he walked the first two hitters in a game, but it didn't faze him one bit. He wasn't upset with himself. He wasn't frustrated. It's pretty amazing stuff."

Pittsburgh didn't get a runner to second the rest of the night against Arrieta. The Cubs have won each of Arrieta's last 19 starts. He became the first Chicago pitcher to win each of his first six starts in a season since Mordecai Brown won his first 11 starts in 1908, which is also the last time the Cubs won the World Series.

This one lacked the vitriol that accompanied Chicago's 7-2 romp on Monday night when Cubs manager Joe Maddon traded words with Pirates players. Chicago was too busy getting to Niese, obtained for popular second baseman Neil Walker.

The Cubs, however, wasted little time taking control. Chicago jumped in front 2-0 in the second on a run-scoring groundout by Javier Baez and an RBI single by Arrieta. The Cubs tagged Niese for four more runs in the fourth. Addison Russell scored on a wild pitch, Jorge Soler and Bryant followed with RBI singles and Rizzo smacked a run-scoring double.

That was more than enough offense for Arrieta, who left after 99 pitches and his winning streak firmly intact.

Rodriguez scored Pittsburgh's only run in the eighth on Jaso's single.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: Placed OF Matt Szczur on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring and brought up OF Ryan Kalish from Triple-A Iowa. Szczur injured the hamstring during a run down between third and home in the fifth inning on Monday night. Kalish hit .368 in 70 plate appearances at Triple-A. The Cubs also transferred INF Christian Villanueva to the 60-day DL.

UP NEXT

Chicago will look for the sweep when Jon Lester (2-1, 1.83) faces Pittsburgh's Juan Nicasio (3-2, 3.33.) Lester is 2-2 with a 1.86 ERA in four starts against the Pirates. Nicasio is coming off seven shutout innings against Cincinnati last Friday.

Associated Press