MILWAUKEE, Wis. (670 The Score) -- Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta stood waiting for manager David Ross to take him out of the game Wednesday afternoon. He knew his exit was coming.
Arrieta had allowed four hits, walked four batters and was on the hook for six runs, including three earned. He couldn't get out of the second inning or protect the 7-0 lead that his team had staked him to in the top of the first. Ross had no choice but to remove the former Cy Young winner Arrieta, whose ERA ballooned up to 5.57 for the season after he lasted just 1 2/3 innings.
While Arrieta's struggles were only part of of the Cubs' 15-7 loss to the Brewers at American Family Field, he knew the failure started with him. Entering the day as losers of five straight, the Cubs needed Arrieta to be the stopper. He couldn't get the job done, and the Cubs have now fallen six games behind the NL Central-leading Brewers.
"Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong for us lately," Arrieta said after the loss.
"This one's on my shoulders. There's no way around it."
Arrieta, 35, rejoined the Cubs on a one-year, $6-million deal this past offseason. The Cubs understood Arrieta wasn't going to return to his once-dominant form from 2015-'17, but they hoped he could help provide stability in their rotation.
Instead, Arrieta has struggled considerably -- to a point in which the Cubs could soon be forced to remove him from the rotation altogether.
"I really don't care to think about that," Arrieta said with some displeasure.
Ross declined to speculate on Arrieta's place and role with the Cubs moving forward but detailed the team's pitching situation more bluntly.
"I don't know who we would replace him with," Ross said.
Cubs starting pitchers now have a combined 4.67 ERA this season after Arrieta's struggles Wednesday, a mark that ranks 23rd in MLB. Staff ace Kyle Hendricks has improved after a difficult start to the season, leading the Cubs' rotation with a 3.98 ERA. Right-hander Zach Davies has been fine, posting a 4.32 ERA after his own tough start.
But the Cubs' starting pitching isn't getting the job done as a unit. That especially includes Arrieta, whom the Cubs hoped could be reliable every fifth day.
"Be better, throw strikes, command the baseball," Ross said. "I think we all got to be better."
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.