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Tempers flare as Arrieta, Cubs shut out Pirates, advance to NLDS

Bob Nightengale

USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH — Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta was livid Wednesday night, ready to take on the entire Pittsburgh Pirates team by himself, but before he could take a step, he was completely surrounded.

Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta reacts after he was hit by a pitch.

Yes, by his own teammates.

The entire Cubs’ bench emptied onto the field after Arrieta was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning. The Pirates came storming out, and before you knew it, there were 50 players screaming and yelling at one another in the middle of the biggest game of their lives.

The Cubs thought it was a bush-league move, and veteran pitcher Dan Haren didn’t hesitate calling out the Pirates.

"If anything, they looked stupid at the end of it," Haren said. "I mean, we were all jacked up already. I don’t think we needed any more help. Jake took it like a man.

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"Pittsburgh just looked really bad.

"Obviously, they get beat, and then throwing at the starting pitcher, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that."

Arrieta, now more angry than ever, personally made sure the Pirates looked foolish, becoming the first Cubs pitcher to throw a postseason shutout in 70 years, leading the Cubs to a 4-0 victory and a date on Friday night with their bitter rivals — the St. Louis Cardinals.

"What fired me up," Arrieta said, "was seeing all my teammates behind me. It’s a situation where you don’t want to see anybody get hurt. Obviously, I’m not trying to hurt their guys.

"It’s the playoffs. There’s a lot at stake. Tempers are running hot. It’s just the environment. It breeds that kind of intensity, and sometimes those things happen."

And sometimes, things start happening that can turn a franchise from lovable losers into an awfully dangerous team.

"This is Arrieta’s year," Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli said. "And I believe we just faced the team that will be in the World Series.

"They’re really good."

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The Cubs won their first postseason game since 2003, and after playing one another for 112 years, they’ll be playing the Cardinals for the first time in the postseason.

"I love it. I don’t just like it, I love it," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who grew up a Cardinals fan. "I know their fans are amazing. They understand the game. They have this wonderful tradition. To go there and play them, it’s almost a privilege. An honor.

"Our guys, they’re just babies, and now they get to play them. They could be playing at Double-A or Triple-A for some organizations, and look at them.

"It’s just tremendous what they’ve done so far."

The Cubs kiddie corps may be barely old enough to drink, but after watching their wild celebration roll well past midnight, they learned in a hurry how to uncork bottles of champagne. They ripped through cases of Korbel and Royal Cuvee, dousing one another with hundreds of bottles of beer, and making sure it would be the greatest party of their lives.

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It’s almost unfathomable to imagine just how crazy this can get if they keep this up for the next month, culminating in their first World Series championship since 1908.

"It wouldn’t have felt right not to go home with this team," says Cubs president Theo Epstein, completely drenched, watching his team grow up before his very eyes. "We’ve had a little bit of magic going on all year long. We deserve a nice little run here in October."

Well, Arrieta personally made sure the Cubs will be heading straight to St. Louis, and not home for the cold winter.

When Cubs rookie right fielder Kyle Schwarber drove in a run in the first inning, the Cubs believed the game was over. When Schwarber hit a towering two-run homer that landed in the Allegheny River in the third inning, the 3-0 lead looked like an absolute rout. The Pirates could have brought boat paddles up to the plate, and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

This is a guy who has now pitched 29 consecutive scoreless innings, yielding just nine hits, one walk and 36 strikeouts. He has given up a grand total of four runs the last two months. His 0.41 ERA since the end of July was the lowest by any pitcher since the stat was even created.

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"I didn’t want to see anybody in the bullpen," Arrieta said. "I wanted to finish what I started. In an environment like this, you want to have the ball in your hand when the last out is made."

Well, if truth be told, Maddon had no plans to pick up the bullpen phone.

"Just watching him, I was really calm the whole game," Maddon said. "I wasn’t going to take him out. It would have had to be really bad for him to come out of that game."

The only time he got into trouble was in the sixth inning when the Pirates loaded the bases after a single, hit batter and an error by rookie Addison Russell. The crowd of 40,889, the biggest ever at PNC Park, came alive and started rocking the joint.

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"I relish that situation," Arrieta said. "The 40,000-plus fans, they’re out for blood. That’s what I expected. I still was able to keep my composure, make big pitches, regardless of the noise."

Arrieta silenced the crowd with a single pitch, inducting a double-play grounder by Starling Marte, yep, right into the glove of Russell, who initially bobbled the ball, regained his composure, and turned it.

Game, set and match.

The only remaining drama was when Pirates reliever Tony Watson hit Arrieta in the left hip in the seventh inning, trying to gain vengeance after Arrieta hit two Pirates’ hitters during the game.

"The balls were slick tonight," Arrieta said. "I told Cervelli, 'I'm not trying to hit anybody. I’m not trying to hurt anybody, especially in that situation.' But Tony’s going to protect his players, and move on."

While the melee resulted in mostly just trash talking and a little shoving, Pirates first baseman Sean Rodriguez put on a show of his own, trying to go after every Cubs player he could find. He was ejected, and then did a Floyd Mayweather impersonation on a water cooler. Rodriguez said he was incensed because Cubs catcher David Ross tried to choke him, but Ross later said it was simply accidental.

"He was lunging at me," Ross said. "I was trying to break it up. I think he was too. When he bent down, I went to grab his chest, and my hand went straight to his throat. I didn’t mean to do that.

"It just happened. It happened so fast. And he swung at me. I had no bad intentions. We’ve got a four-run lead. I’m trying to keep guys off our starting pitcher, who’s dominating the game, and just calm things down.

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"It’s a young group. It’s a crazy environment. The last thing I want to do is fight. I don’t want anybody messing with the guy that’s dominating the game. I don’t know if that was their tactic or not, but that’s a good ball club. We’re not here to fight those guys. That’s not what we came here to do.

"Unfortunately, it got ugly for a minute."

And beautiful at the same time, bringing the Cubs team even closer together.

"It kind of fired us up a little bit," said Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, who made two outstanding plays in the field, "and maybe fired Jake up a little bit.

"It was weird to happen in a postseason game, but I think everybody handled it well. You just show your emotions sometimes."

When play resumed, Arrieta got his revenge. He stole second base. It was the first time he even attempted a stolen base, and for a moment there, he felt like Rickey Henderson.

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"That was awesome," Arrieta said. "I might like that more than the CG (complete game). I’m going to try to stack up a little more in St. Louis."

Yes, as the Pirates discovered themselves, it’s not nice to get Arrieta upset, and he was angry all day long.

Arrieta’s wife and two kids were strolling around downtown Pittsburgh late Wednesday morning when they spotted Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio.

Cooper Arrieta, their 3-year-old son, ran towards Bosio, leaped into his arms, and hugged him.

"Where’s your dad?" Bosio asked.

"Oh, he’s back at the hotel," Cooper said. "He’s mad today. He’s very mad."

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Bosio: "That’s a good thing, right?"

Cooper: "Yes, very good."

Certainly, the Cardinals can take a lesson from the Pirates. Don’t get Arrieta mad. Don’t even get him annoyed. Maybe a friendly, gentle Arrieta could make him, well, almost human.

"I was with (Clayton) Kershaw last year," Haren said, "and that was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. But this?