(670 The Score) Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta’s status with the team is in limbo after another awful start Tuesday evening.
Arrieta went just 1 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs, all earned, on six hits and two walks. It continued a rough stretch, as Arrieta has allowed 29 earned runs in 27 innings (9.67 ERA) across his last eight starts, in which the Cubs have gone 1-7 and Arrieta himself is 0-5.
After Arrieta’s early struggles set the stage for the Cubs’ 15-10 loss to the Phillies on Tuesday, manager David Ross had no answer about Arrieta’s future.
“I don't know what is going on,” Ross said. “There is a lot of hard contact. It looks like the shape of his secondary stuff is not there. The command doesn't seem to be consistent. We knew we needed to fix that, but right now I am not sure. There isn't a lot of sharpness to the secondary stuff, and I see a lack of command.”
The Cubs have now lost 11 straight games, their longest losing streak since May 2012. In his previous start before Tuesday, Arrieta coughed up his team’s early 7-0 lead to the Brewers last Wednesday.
“I have to look at that,” Ross said when asked what the Cubs will do with Arrieta’s rotation spot Sunday. “We have had 11 losses in a row, so we have a lot to look at. I will try to wrap my head around this one tonight and attack the problems in the morning.”
For his part, the 35-year-old Arrieta was direct in sharing that he doesn’t believe the end of his career is in sight despite his recent failures.
“No, not even clos,” Arrieta said. “This sucks, it really does. But I am going to do whatever needs to be done. The stuff is too good. I still have a lot left in the tank. There is no question about that. The stuff I have still plays. The execution is not there. It hasn't been for a while. I have been in worse situations in my career, worse situations than this. I am not going to hang my head or get too down on myself.”
Arrieta joined the Cubs on a one-year, $6-million deal just before spring training, reuniting with the organization that he starred for in winning the 2015 National League Cy Young award and which he helped lead to a World Series title in 2016.
Arrieta was more concerned about the Cubs’ downward spiral than anything.
“This has been a really tough stretch for us,” Arrieta said. “The offense showed up really well. No matter how the game started or progressed through the middle innings, they did not give up. I am not going to give up either. I know where my stuff ranks in the game, and it still is there.”
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.