Cubs dominate Orioles as Arrieta trumps former club |
BALTIMORE – Another day, another win. The Cubs climb back to .500 after a 10-3 blowout of the Orioles marking the first time all year they have scored 9+ runs in consecutive games. That could be because they are facing the most inept rotation in all of baseball, or because they have found their stride to start the second half. Jake Arrieta pitched well in his return to Camden Yard going 6.2 innings and giving up just two runs (one earned) on four hits and three strikeouts.
Albert Almora Jr. slotted into center field tonight making the most of his first start in the second half by homering in the third to give the Cubs a 1-0 edge. Since Ian Happ was called up to the big league, Almora’s time in the outfield has been cut back. With Kyle Schwarber sitting and Jon Jay in the designated hitter role, Almora reminded the Cubs why he is a special player. Two hits and two RBIs from the nine-hole gave the rest of the lineup a boost considering Jon Jay went 0-for-5. Strong outing from @JArrieta34! pic.twitter.com/jmDmV63YIg Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras and Javy Baez all had three hits and Addison Russell extended his home run streak to two. One thing the Cubs did well today that they have been doing poorly all year is hitting with runners in scoring position. Tonight, they were 5-for-8 (.625) with seven RBI in that spot. If they don’t get any of those runs this game would have gone into extra innings. Quite a few extra games in the first half would have been won if they hit this well with a runner on second. Blackjack! #TeamRizzo pic.twitter.com/NCSypkRGPa Tomorrow marks Jose Quintana’s (4-8, 4.49 ERA) Cubs debut. He will face Ubaldo Jimenez (4-4, 6.67 ERA) who has regressed horribly from last year. Game time is 12:35 PM CDT.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs)
July 16, 2017
