Arrieta's scoreless streak ends at 34 innings

Perhaps Jake Arrieta is human after all.

The Chicago Cubs right-hander fired 31 consecutive scoreless innings (regular season and postseason) coming into his Game 3 start against the St. Louis Cardinals, but Jhonny Peralta put an end to his dominant run with a RBI double in the fourth inning.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

It's also the first run Arrieta allowed at Wrigley Field since July 25.

The Cy Young candidate allowed four runs on five hits while striking out nine over 5 2/3 innings, and departed with a 5-4 lead. Arrieta had amazingly only given up four runs total since July 25.

"I had to battle a little bit," Arrieta said postgame. "I had some uncharacteristic things happen with the two walks to start the inning. But (the Cubs' offense) picked me up, and that was good to see. It's a different environment in the playoffs. You have to control the emotions and try and conserve energy when you have the ability to do so. It's a learning process."

It's also important to note winds were blowing out at Wrigley at 25 mph, which certainly contributed to the number of homers in the contest.

Arrieta was brilliant in his postseason debut, tossing a complete-game shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League wild-card game.