Cubs' Shot At World Series? Their Chances Are Rising
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Riding Jake Arrieta's masterful performance against Pittsburgh, the upstart Chicago Cubs have the second-best shot at winning the World Series, according to one rating system.
According to FiveThirtyEight's Elo system, the Cubs now have a 15 percent chance of winning their first championship since 1908. That number nearly doubled after Wednesday's 4-0 win in the wild-card game at PNC Park.
Only the Toronto Blue Jays have a more favorable number: 19 percent.
The Cubs are slightly favored to beat the Cardinals in their first ever playoff matchup, according to Elo.
As for Arrieta, he likely he won't pitch again until Game 3 on Monday.
The good news is that he has been much more effective on four days rest in 2015, compared with five days.
For example, in 16 games with four days of rest, Arrieta's strikeout/walk ratio was 5.8, and he allowed 16 runs with 74 total bases and had an ERA of 1.02.
By comparison, in 15 games with five days of rest, his strikeout/walk ratio was 4.68, and he allowed 36 runs and 137 total bases and had an ERA of 2.87.