Like Blowing Fish Out of Water.
The Cubs dominate the first of four in Miami.
There isn’t a much better way to start a long 11 game road trip than the way the Chicago Cubs did on Thursday night in Miami. The Cubs scored 11 times on 16 hits and powered 3 home runs behind a strong performance from Jake Arrieta to win 11–1 in South Florida.
Jake Arrieta took command of his pitch count and command on Thursday night as he pitched one of the better games of the year, Arrieta allowed just one run while scattering 7 hits across 7 innings, but most impressively not yielding a walk the entire night. Jake’s command has been a problem for him this year that has led to high pitch counts and troublesome innings, but tonight he was able to get ahead in counts and make quick work of a talented Marlins’ offense. Hopefully it’s a start of better things to come for Jake as it was the deepest into a game that Arrieta has gone since April 9th in Milwaukee. The lone run came off of a Marcell Ozuna home run in the second inning that cut the Cubs lead to 2–1.
The Cubs offense was another great story of the night as Addison Russell got the offense going with a single in the second inning against left hander Jeff Locke, Addi would have one of his best nights this year going 4–5 with a two run homer and just a triple shy of a cycle. Arrieta got the scoring started in the second with a bases loaded single and then the newly brought up outfielder Mark Zagunis delivered an RBI on a force out deep in the hole at short. The Cubs would score 2 in the inning, but felt like they could have produced more, they would surely get more.
The scoring continued in the fourth as Kris Bryant homered to Left Center scoring Arrieta and Rizzo to put the Cubs up 5–1 as the Cubs would get home runs in the next two innings from Russell and Contreras to pad the lead at 8–1. Bryant would finish the night 2–4 with 3 RBI’s and a walk, hopefully a sign Bryant is breaking out of his mini slump. The Cubs would add on three more in the eighth to command an 11–1 lead and eventually win by the same tally. Ian Happ had a great night as well, collecting his first 4 hit game of his young career as he went 4–5 with two RBI’s.
Maybe Miguel Montero was on to something when he took to twitter yesterday proclaiming the Cubs will get hot right now and go on a tear. Hopefully the man who started the #wearegood moniker is onto something else, I sure hope so. The Cubs play three more in Miami before heading to Washington and Cincinnati. The Cubs remain a 1 1/2 back from the Brewers heading into Friday’s game that plates John Lackey vs Jose Urina at 7:10 ET.
Ross Adams grew up watching the Cubs on WGN in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina and has become as loyal and diehard as they come to baseball on the North Side of Chicago. Ross is pursing an English degree and Journalism minor at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
