Arrieta Leads Cubs To 7-1 Win Over Braves
CHICAGO (AP) -- Jake Arrieta pitched six scoreless innings for his major league-leading 15th win, and Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell homered to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 7-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night.
Chicago snapped a three-game losing streak after winning nine straight and 15 of 16, with Arrieta (15-6) dominating on the mound and Rizzo and Russell supplying the power at the plate.
Rizzo's three-run drive capped a four-run third inning that saw Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez get ejected.
Russell singled and scored in the third and added a solo homer in the fourth to make it 5-0. Chris Coghlan contributed an RBI single and a run-scoring triple and scored twice.
Arrieta improved to 9-1 in his past 12 starts. The right-hander gave up four hits, struck out seven and walked one while lowering his ERA to 2.30.
The Cubs got back to winning after they gave up a combined 25 runs and 40 hits in a two-game sweep by Detroit. With Pittsburgh beating San Francisco on Thursday, Chicago trails the Pirates by four games for the top wild card and leads the Giants by four games for the second spot.
Atlanta lost for the 19th time in 27 games and remained tied for the major league lead with 44 road losses.
Mike Foltynewicz (4-5) gave up seven runs and eight hits over 4 2-3 innings.
The Cubs grabbed a 4-0 lead in the third in a span of two pitches after Gonzalez got tossed.
The ejection -- his first -- came with runners on first and second and one out.
Coghlan had a 2-0 count when plate umpire Doug Eddings raised his hand twice toward the Atlanta dugout. Gonzalez came out to argue and kicked dirt on the plate.
Coghlan then singled in the game's first run. Rizzo made it 4-0 when he drove the next pitch just inside the right-field foul pole for his 24th homer.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Braves: 3B prospect Hector Olivera (left hamstring), currently at Triple-A Gwinnett, could join the Braves as early as Monday, Gonzalez said. Olivera, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers last month, is expected to be the everyday third baseman once he makes his major league debut.
UP NEXT
Braves: RHP Shelby Miller (5-9, 2.43 ERA) looks to snap a 16-start winless streak. He is 0-8 despite a 3.03 ERA in that stretch.
Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-5, 3.97) looks to rebound from his shortest outing of the season after going 3 1-3 innings against the White Sox last week.
(© 2015 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)