Arrieta pitches seven strong innings as Cubs beat Orioles

Right-hander Jake Arrieta provided his former team an in-person example of how well he has pitched this season today. Arrieta pitched a strong seven innings as the Chicago Cubs beat the Orioles 4-1 in the series opener at Wrigley Field. The Orioles' four-game winning streak ended and they fall to 4-3 on this road trip and to 73-53 for the season. Arrieta gave up just four hits and the one run with one walk and five strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches and is now 7-4 with an ERA of 2.53. Arrieta recorded his 13th quality start in 14 outings and has allowed two earned runs or less in 15 of 20 starts this year. The Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Luis Valbuena hit a solo homer to right with one out. It was his 12th homer. Ryan Sweeney doubled and scored on a Logan Watkins single. The Orioles thought they got one back in the fifth, but Chris Davis was thrown out at the plate by Sweeney in right. The umpires initiated a crew chief review, but determined that catcher John Baker had legally blocked the plate. Down 3-0 after Cubs shortstop Javier Baez homered in the fifth, Nelson Cruz homered to left for the Orioles in the seventh. It was the major league-leading 34th for Cruz, who also set a new career-high with that homer. Arismendy Alcantara's RBI single made it 4-1 in the last of the seventh. Kevin Gausman took the loss to fall to 7-5 with an ERA of 3.81. Over five innings, he gave up six hits and three runs, including the two homers. Gausman had allowed just three homers in 73 innings for the season until this outing. The Orioles are 34-27 on the road, 9-6 in interleague games and 3-4 all-time against the Cubs. In the second game of the series on Saturday afternoon, Bud Norris (11-7, 3.69 ERA) faces right-hander Kyle Hendricks (5-1, 1.48 ERA).