Cubs’ Ace Jake Arrieta Shuts Out Pirates, 4-0, in N.L. Wild Card Game

Cubs' ace Jake Arrieta threw a four-hit shutout, as Chicago beat the Pirates, 4-0, in the National League Wild Card game in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.

With the victory, the Cubs advanced to face the Cardinals in the National League Division Series, which starts in St. Louis on Friday.

Arrieta, who has been historically dominant on the mound for Chicago since August 1, struck out 11 while throwing a complete game. He induced double plays in both the six and seventh innings when the Pirates mounted their only real scoring threats in the game.

It was all too familiar a scene in Pittsburgh, where red hot Madison Bumgarner of San Francisco shut out the Pirates in the 2014 N.L. Wild Card game en route to an eventual World Series title with the Giants.

The biggest drama of the night came in the seventh inning when Pittsburgh reliever Tony Watson plunked Arrieta on his left hip. After a bit of chatter, the benches and bullpens cleared. Play was halted for a few minutes, but no punches were thrown.

The top two batters in the Cubs batting order provided all the offense: Dexter Fowler homered and scored three times and Kyle Schwarber had a home run and three RBIs.