Jake Arrieta was injured in the Cubs’ loss to the Padres, and is expected to be out for a few weeks. The Cubs are 3-6 on their brutal road trip so far, and they still have 16 games left on it.
After leaving his start against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday with a minor left hamstring strain, new San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Arrieta has been added to the team’s list of walking wounded.
Arrieta, 35, was pulled after allowing five runs in 3.1 innings. Rockies catcher Dom Nunez blasted a home run on his final ball. As he landed on his follow-through, the right-hander felt a kink in his hamstring.
After the Padres’ 7-5 defeat, Arrieta remarked, “It’s a terrible start to the group.” “I’m sorry for what occurred. It’s not the best way to get to know your new teammates, particularly when you’re trying to stem the bleeding and save a game in the series.”
Despite having a 6.88 ERA with the Chicago Cubs this season, Arrieta was signed on Tuesday. The move was forced by injuries to Padres pitchers, with lefty Matt Strahm joining colleagues Yu Darvish, Drew Pomeranz, Dinelson Lamet, and Chris Paddack on the disabled list. Strahm’s right knee is inflamed. Arrieta believes his injury isn’t severe.
The Padres finished off a “brutal” road trip, going 1-5 against Arizona and Colorado. San Diego’s journey was completed with a sweep by the Rockies.
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Padres manager Jayce Tingler said, “It’s certainly not anticipated, but it’s where we’re at.” “This is a torturous journey. Nothing ever seemed to take off.
“We need to improve in every area of the game. It’s aggravating. We’ve got the men for the job.”
Despite the defeat, the Padres are still 1.5 games ahead of the Cincinnati Reds for second place in the wild card race. The Reds also dropped a series to a sub-.500 club this week, as the Cubs took two of three games from them. San Diego has struggled with this trend all season: the Padres are only 36-36 versus clubs that are below.500. Tingler was asked whether he could explain the anomaly, given that they are 11 games over.500 on the season.
“I’m not sure how,” he replied, “but we’ve been inconsistent.” “There’s no question about that… On the road, we haven’t been terrific. We haven’t fared well against clubs with winning percentages below.500.”
The Padres are experiencing pitching problems, which is unsurprising given their ailments. Prior to Wednesday’s game, they had the second-worst ERA in the National League over the previous seven days. Following Arrieta’s exit, reliever Nabil Crismatt let up two runs, which proved to be the game’s deciding factor.
Tingler said, “There is a feeling of urgency.” “The men are in a fight. They’re putting in a lot of effort. We’ll be able to get started once we have a few of things in place.”
The Padres aim to do so at home, where they are now 40-24. Beginning this weekend, they will host the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both of those opponents are looking to make the playoffs, which may be a good thing. When playing against stronger competition, the Padres do better.
“We’re a club that can go very hot at any time,” Wil Myers, the outfielder, said. “We can win ten games in a year. That has been shown. If we continue to concentrate on the bad, they will continue to accumulate.”
Tingler was asked how the squad was feeling after the long journey.
He inquired rhetorically, “Where are we?” “I’m annoyed. Frustrated. Those may be beneficial.”
