Joe Maddon put the ball in the very capable hands of Jake Arrieta for Wednesday's do-or-die contest with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the National League Cy Young candidate made him look like a genius.
Arrieta tossed a complete-game shutout and rookie Kyle Schwarber drove in three runs as the Cubs blanked the Pirates 4-0 in the NL wild-card game, earning a date with the St. Louis Cardinals in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Top Performer: Arrieta, who was making his first career playoff start, continued his historic second-half run with an 11-strikeout performance. He's now thrown 31 consecutive scoreless innings between the regular season and postseason. The righty also appeared to be intentionally thrown at while batting in the seventh inning, resulting in a bench-clearing incident.
Starting Pitchers: Pirates starter Gerrit Cole struggled to keep the ball down in the strike zone, and yielded a pair of homers to Schwarber and Dexter Fowler. Arrieta, meanwhile, only ran into trouble in the sixth inning when he loaded the bases with one out. He promptly got Starling Marte to ground into a double play and escaped the jam.
| PITCHER | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrieta | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Cole | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
Turning Point: Schwarber unloaded on a Cole offering in the third, unleashing a majestic 450-foot blast out of PNC Park to give the Cubs a commanding 3-0 lead with Arrieta on the mound. Arrieta hasn't allowed more than three earned runs in a start since July 25, which put the Cubs at ease down the stretch.
Up Next: The Pirates, who amassed an impressive 98 wins in the regular season, have now lost the NL wild-card game for the second time in three seasons, and will clear out their lockers Thursday. Chicago, however, will head to St. Louis for a five-game series with the Cardinals that begins Friday.
