PITTSBURGH – Jake Arrieta has a message for the rest of the National League, the reason why the Cubs will take their chances in a wild-card game or a short playoff series and whatever else lurks in October.
“There is (another gear),” Arrieta said after shutting down the Pittsburgh Pirates during Tuesday night’s 5-0 win. “It’s my job to find it and to stay in it. I think that being consistent is something that I’ve been able to establish as part of who I am.
“Now it’s: How can I go out there and dominate every time?”
Arrieta said all this in a matter-of-fact voice, standing shirtless at his locker inside PNC Park’s visiting clubhouse. He does Pilates and obsesses over nutrition and once even got a male Jane Fonda comparison from manager Joe Maddon for his workout habits.
But don’t let the Zen stuff fool you: Arrieta is a nasty, cold-blooded pitcher with brute-force stuff.
“It’s easier to say than do,” Arrieta said. “But with the preparation and the proper game-planning, it’s possible to go out there and have dominant performances almost every time out. That’s what I intend to do.”
[MORE: Why playing stupid is the smart move for Cubs in pennant race]
MLB
Arrieta dominated the Pirates (61-44), giving up only two hits and three walks across seven lockdown innings. The Cubs (58-47) stayed a half-game ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the second wild-card chase and moved to three games behind the Pirates, who hold the first wild-card position.
Between Arrieta and Jon Lester, the Cubs feel like they have a one-two punch that can hit as hard as any rotation in baseball.
“They’re right there,” Maddon said. “Jon’s been there and I think Arrieta’s the guy that’s really arriving on the scene right now. We’ve talked about that all year. He’s got that kind of stuff.
“You can almost really appreciate his stuff based on those horizontal and vertical readings on the scoreboard – how much the ball actually moves – and the velocity at the same time.
“He’s really an interesting pitcher. And I’ll say it again: He is not there yet. He is not as good as he’s going to become.”
[MORE: Why Jorge Soler could be next domino to fall for Cubs]
Arrieta (12-6, 2.50 ERA) is putting together the complete season the Baltimore Orioles once dreamed about, with 152 strikeouts against 37 walks through 147-plus innings. It’s been two years and one month since that change-of-scenery trade that changed the franchise’s trajectory.
“When he really understands how to utilize all of his weapons, it could get scary,” Maddon said. “There’s another level of Arrieta over the next couple years. I firmly believe that.”