Chicago’s Jake Arrieta pitched a shutout to steer the Cubs to their first win in a playoff game for 12 years, beating Pittsburgh 4-0 on Wednesday in the National League wild-card game.
Arrieta struck out 11 without a walk and was also at the heart of an altercation after being hit by a pitch. His efforts propelled the Cubs to an NL Division Series against St Louis, which is to begin today.
“I’m exhausted. I haven’t felt this way all year,” said Arrieta, who led the majors with 22 wins.
Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY
“This atmosphere, the energy was unbelievable. Tried to use it to the best of my ability. They were loud, they were really loud,” he said.
Dexter Fowler homered and scored three times for the Cubs, while rookie Kyle Schwarber added a towering two-run homer as Chicago raced to an early lead and let Arrieta do the rest.
“Jake told me when we talked last night, he said: ‘You give me a few runs, I’m good,’” Fowler said.
“And I said: ‘All right, bro, we’ll see what we can do,’” he added.
The largest crowd ever at PNC Park failed to rattle Arrieta or one of baseball’s youngest teams, one that looked right at home while snapping a nine-game playoff losing streak that dated to the 2003 NL Championship Series.
“You don’t think that these guys are 21, 23 years old, because they don’t play like it,” Arrieta said.
“They have elevated their play to a level that’s beyond their years, and it’s one of the big reasons we’re here,” he added.
The bearded Arrieta, who is still unbeaten since July 25, stretched his remarkable second half of the regular season — in which he posted an 0.75 ERA — into the opening round of the playoffs.
His complete-game shutout was the first for the Cubs in the playoffs since Claude Passeau in the 1945 World Series.
Pittsburgh were knocked out after an impressive 98 victories this year, second only to division rival St Louis, whose dominance forced the Pirates into the sudden-death wild-card game.
The Pirates have failed to score in both of their wild-card games over the past two years, having been beaten by ultimate World Series winners San Francisco last year.
“Two years in a row we’ve drawn a tough bull,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.
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