Arrieta, Rizzo leads Cubs over Pirates 5

In his last outing, Happ lost allowing seven runs [six earned] on nine hits in 3.1 innings against the Minnesota Twins. He remains a starter, but not with Seattle.

If this is the real J.A. Happ, there could be a problem. “It’s my job to find it and to stay in it. I think being consistency is something I’ve been able to establish as part of who I am”. There were near brawls in Sunday’s Pirates-Reds game in Pittsburgh as well as the Royals-Blue Jays in Toronto. Some deep counts. …

Maggie Lucas scored 14 points for Indiana (11-9), which had won three straight and eight of 10. Arrieta allowed two singles – Andrew McCutchen within the fourth and Starling Marte within the seventh – whereas putting out 5 and strolling three.

Afterward, Happ admitted he was “anxious”, but he made no excuses. “I had that mindset of not giving in throughout the game”.

Finally tied with San Francisco for the second wild card spot, the Chicago Cubs will look to extend their winning streak to six games when they begin their pivotal week in Pittsburgh on Monday.

2014 was Arrieta’s first full season in Chicago, and he didn’t disappoint (except maybe the rest of the National League Central).

Arrieta (12-6, 2.50 ERA) is putting together the complete season the Baltimore Orioles once dreamed about, with 152 strikeouts against 37 walks through 147-plus innings. The Pirates could very easily skip his spot in the rotation, as they have off days coming on Thursday and Monday. He says he may have thrown his last pitch. The young right-hander started in 18 games, posting a 6-6 record and a 4.66 ERA (Earned Run Average) on the season. The Cubs loaded the bases in the first, and Happ forced home the game’s first run by walking Jorge Soler on a 3-1 fastball.

After their sixth consecutive victory, the Cubs (58-47) are three games behind the Pirates for the first NL wild card berth. Starlin Castro doubled to right-center field, scoring Rizzo from second, and David Ross followed with an RBI single to center to take a 3-0 lead.

Pirates (3): “A.J. Burnett, who has allowed 19 runs in his past 16 innings pitched since the All-Star break, landed on the DL and his career could be over if his exam on Monday reveals a torn elbow ligament”.

Wada had been out since June 23 with left deltoid inflammation and was on a rehab assignment with Iowa.

The delay caused managers Joe Maddon of the Cubs and Clint Hurdle of the Pirates to pull their respective starting pitchers. Haren was acquired from the Miami Marlins on Friday in a trade.

“The Cubs broke through with a run in the third, taking the lead on Anthony Rizzo”™s RBI grounder through the right side, and the Pirates answered in the home half of the frame.