Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta hasn’t just been great. He has been historically great. The right-hander the Cubs got in a trade with the Orioles three years ago is having one of the most dominant pitching runs of all time.
A historically dominant stretch
It took a no-hitter by Cole Hamels of the Phillies to hand Jake Arrieta his only loss in his past 29 starts.
That’s how dominant Arrieta has pitched in one of the most overwhelming stretches in major league history.
Arrieta is 24-1 with an 0.99 ERA during that stretch, with 210 strikeouts in 210 innings. In those 29 starts, Arrieta has allowed three earned runs or fewer — the longest stretch in the majors since the pitching rubber was set 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate in 1883.
Since losing to Hamels, Arrieta has pitched even better — posting a 19-0 record with an 0.77 ERA and two no-hitters in 21 starts.
Arrieta’s starts since June 21, 2015
Quality start (Less than 4ER, at least 6 IP)
Bold indicates a no-hitter
|
Date/ (Opponent) |
Hits | Runs | Innings | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Jun 21 (@MIN) |
4 |
<!– 0 –> |
9 |
W |
|
Jun 26 (@STL) |
3 |
<!– 1 –> |
7 |
– |
|
Jul 2 (@NYM) |
5 |
<!– 1 –> |
8 |
W |
|
Jul 7 (STL) |
7 |
<!– 2 –> |
6.2 |
W |
|
Jul 12 (CHW) |
2 |
<!– 1 –> |
9 |
W |
|
Jul 19 (@ATL) |
3 |
<!– 0 –> |
7 |
W |
|
Jul 25 (PHI) |
6 |
<!– 3 –> |
6 |
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|
Jul 30 (@MIL) |
5 |
<!– 2 –> |
6 |
– |
|
Aug 4 (@PIT) |
2 |
<!– 0 –> |
7 |
W |
|
Aug 9 (SFG) |
4 |
<!– 0 –> |
7.2 |
W |
|
Aug 15 (@CHW) |
5 |
<!– 2 –> |
6.2 |
W |
|
Aug 20 (ATL) |
4 |
<!– 0 –> |
6 |
W |
|
Aug 25 (@SFG) |
4 |
<!– 0 –> |
6 |
W |
|
Aug 30 (@LAD) |
0 |
<!– 0 –> |
9 |
W |
|
Sep 5 (ARI) |
4 |
<!– 0 –> |
8 |
W |
|
Date/ (Opponent) |
Hits | Runs | Innings | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sep 11 (@PHI) |
6 |
<!– 1 –> |
8 |
W |
|
Sep 16 (@PIT) |
6 |
<!– 1 –> |
8 |
– |
|
Sep 22 (MIL) |
3 |
<!– 0 –> |
9 |
W |
|
Sep 27 (PIT) |
1 |
<!– 0 –> |
7 |
W |
|
Oct 2 (@MIL) |
2 |
<!– 0 –> |
6 |
W |
|
Apr 4 (@LAA) |
2 |
<!– 0 –> |
7 |
W |
|
Apr 10 (@ARI) |
8 |
<!– 3 –> |
7 |
W |
|
Apr 16 (COL) |
5 |
<!– 0 –> |
8 |
W |
|
Apr 21 (@CIN) |
0 |
<!– 0 –> |
9 |
W |
|
Apr 28 (MIL) |
3 |
<!– 1 –> |
5 |
W |
|
May 3 (@PIT) |
2 |
<!– 0 –> |
7 |
W |
|
May 8 (WSN) |
6 |
<!– 2 –> |
5 |
– |
|
May 14 (PIT) |
3 |
<!– 2 –> |
8 |
W |
|
May 20 (@SFG) |
4 |
<!– 1 –> |
7 |
W |
|
May 25 (@STL) |
7 |
<!– 4 –> |
5 |
W |
Arrieta's total over 30 games
25-1
Arrieta's record (four no decisions)
28-2
Cubs' record when Arrieta starts
1.13
ERA (earned run average)
0.76
WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched)
27
Quality starts (24 of them in a row)
Arrieta’s streak of 24 consecutive quality starts is the second longest since 1913. The Cardinals’ Bob Gibson had 26 straight quality starts spanning the 1967-68 seasons. Gibson’s stretch was in an era when starting pitchers went deeper into games than they do now, but Arrieta had more strikeouts and a slightly better earned run average.
Statistics during quality start streak
| Quality starts | W-L | ERA | WHIP | K/BB | K/9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Gibson | 26 | 20-6 | 0.91 | 0.8 | 4.12 | 6.98 |
| Jake Arrieta | 24 | 20-1 | 0.86 | 0.7 | 5.24 | 8.96 |
How Arrieta developed into one of MLB's best pitchers
In the summer of 2013, the Cubs sent starter Scott Feldman and backup catcher Steve Clevenger to the Orioles in a multiplayer trade that brought two struggling pitchers, Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop. By the summer of 2016, Arrieta has established himself as one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, with two no-hitters and a Cy Young Award. What changed?
Reverting to his natural mechanics
Some scouts who watched Arrieta at Texas Christian weren’t concerned that Arrieta threw across his body, noting that some pitchers with sound mechanics have had Tommy John surgery.
Arrieta received a $1 million signing bonus despite being only a fifth-round pick of the Orioles in the 2007 draft. He made his major league debut in 2010.
But after posting a 6-6 record and 4.66 ERA in 18 starts during his rookie season, Arrieta’s ERA swelled to 5.11 — including a 5.73 ERA in four starts in the second half of 2011. He then had surgery to repair a bone chip.
At the same time, Arrieta struggled to adjust under new pitching coach Rick Adair, who replaced Mark Connor midway through 2011.
“I had some success and then was changed to something different,” Arrieta recalled in March. “All I was worried about was mechanics. Rather than when Miguel Cabrera steps in the box, you can’t worry about where your front side is. You got to worry about executing a pitch.
“And that’s the mindset adjustment. Mechanical adjustments are made on side days, long toss days and recovery days.”
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Average pitch release point
By season
Fastballs
Breaking pitches
Center of
home plate/
pitching
rubber
Changeups
Feet to the left
Feet to the right
5
4
3
2
1
1
2
3
4
7
2010
6
2015
5
4
3
2
1
0
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Average pitch release point
By season
Fastballs
Breaking pitches
Changeups
Feet to the left
5
4
3
2
1
1
2
7
2010
6
2015
5
4
3
2
1
0
Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio recalled how Arrieta dominated a spring training game in 2008 when Bosio was the Double-A Chattanooga pitching coach in the Reds organization and encouraged Arrieta to pitch the way he wanted after being traded from the Orioles in 2013.
“The biggest thing is that he was overpowering,” Bosio said Saturday. “That’s what I saw for a guy that was pitching at the Double-A level. This was on a really good Double-A club. We had Jay Bruce, Drew Stubbs, Chris Heisey and (Chris) Valaika. It was a good Double-A club, and he went through us as if it was nothing. I took notice because nobody in spring training did that to us.
“So it’s something that you remember as a pitching guy, and it left a mark. I remembered it well.”
Changing his pitch selection
As Arrieta’s ascent started in the second half, he began to incorporate more changeups to disrupt the timing of batters, and his first-pitch slow curve teased the minds of batters who geared up for his fastball.
This season, Arrieta has learned to quickly adjust to the movement on his pitches that sometimes veers out of the strike zone.
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Percentage of pitches thrown
By season
Fastballs
Breaking pitches
Offspeed
Four-seam fastball
Curveball
Changeup
Sinker
Slider
100%
80
60
40
20
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
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Percentage of pitches thrown
By season
Fastballs
Four-seam fastball
Sinker
Breaking pitches
Offspeed
Curveball
Changeup
Slider
100%
80
60
40
20
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Repeating his execution
Arrieta does more than just repeat his delivery. He can throw his pitches at three different speeds.
“We try to do this with all our guys all the way back to Scott Feldman (who was part of the trade that brought Arrieta from the Orioles),” Bosio said. “It’s something I learned as pitcher. It’s something I learned as a golfer — being able to have one club at three different shots. And the predictability is so hard, but you can make different shots.
“It’s just like pitching. You can make different pitches with different speeds and different angles, much like you do in a golf game. And that’s something all of our guys can do. Jake has learned how to do it very well.”
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Speed and vertical movement of Arrieta’s pitches
For the 116 pitches thrown in the Aug. 30, 2015 no-hitter against the Dodgers
Pitch type
Fastballs
Breaking pitches
Offspeed
Pitch resulted
in a strike
or foul ball
Four-seam fastball
Curveball
Changeup
Sinker
Slider
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
78
80
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82
84
86
88
90
92
94
96
98
Miles per hour
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Speed and vertical movement
of Arrieta’s pitches
For the 116 pitches thrown in the
Aug. 30, 2015 no-hitter against the Dodgers
Fastballs
Pitch resulted
in a strike
or foul ball
Four-seam fastball
Sinker
Breaking pitches
Offspeed
Curveball
Changeup
Slider
15
10
5
0
-5
-10
-15
78
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
94
96
98
Miles per hour
Sources: Baseball-reference.com, PITCHf/x data via BrooksBaseball.net
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