Cubs part ways with former Cy Young winner Arrieta
The Chicago Cubs parted ways with struggling right-hander Jake Arrieta on Thursday, placing the former Cy Young Award winner on unconditional release waivers.
Arrieta, 35, surrendered seven runs in the first inning of Wednesday's start against the Milwaukee Brewers and is 5-11 this season with a 6.88 ERA in 20 starts for Chicago.
Also Thursday, catcher Willson Contreras was placed on the 10-day injured list and the Cubs replaced Contreras and Arrieta on the roster with catcher Austin Romine — activated from the 60day IL — and right-hander Ryan Meisinger, who was recalled from triple-A Iowa.
To clear room on the 40-man roster, left-hander Kyle Ryan was designated for assignment.
Contreras has a sprained right knee and could miss multiple weeks.
Arrieta returned to the Cubs this season, signing as a free agent on Feb. 17 after three years with the Philadelphia Phillies. However, he failed to recapture the magic he enjoyed with Chicago from 2013-17, when he won a World Series and a Cy Young Award and tossed two no-hitters.
Arrieta lost his seventh straight decision Wednesday, allowing eight runs on 11 hits over four innings. He posted a 9.92 ERA over his past 11 starts.
He owns a career record of 115-90 with a 3.93 ERA and 1,424 strikeouts in 281 games (275 starts) with the Baltimore Orioles (2010-13), Cubs and Phillies.
Arrieta led the majors in wins and won the National League Cy Young Award in 2015, finishing 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA and three shutouts. In 2016, he made the all-star team and helped the Cubs win their first World Series title since 1908.
He pitched no-hitters against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 30, 2015, and against the Cincinnati Reds on April 21, 2016.
BURNES FANS 10 STRAIGHT TO EVEN MLB RECORD
Milwaukee starter Corbin Burnes tied a major-league record by recording 10 straight strikeouts and blanked host Chicago 10-0 on four hits over eight innings of a history-making win.
Burnes (7-4) finished with a career-high 15 strikeouts. The righthander became the third pitcher in MLB annals to record 10 straight whiffs, joining the New York Mets' Tom Seaver in 1970 and Aaron Nola, who accomplished the feat in June for Philadelphia.
Burnes' streak was snapped when Cubs infielder Matt Duffy singled to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning. His record-tying streak consisted entirely of swinging strikeouts.
The 26-year-old Burnes entered the game with a career-high 157 strikeouts in 113 innings and a major league-best 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
CANADA'S VOTTO STAYS RED HOT AT THE PLATE
Cincinnati slugger Joey Votto is enjoying a tremendous second half of the MLB season.
Votto was 4-for-5 with two homers and four RBIs on Wednesday, including a two-run shot in the ninth inning against Atlanta closer Will Smith that forced the game to extra innings.
The Braves beat the Reds 8-6 in 11 innings.
Since the all-star break, and entering Thursday's games, Votto, from Toronto, leads the major leagues in home runs (14) and RBIs (32).
He has 25 homers and 72 RBIs for the season and is 7-for-12 with two doubles, two homers, five RBIs and two walks in the first three games of the road trip.
“He's one of the greatest players I've been fortunate enough to suit it up with,” Cincinnati starter Wade Miley said afterwards. “It's incredible what a great baseball player he is. It's been fun to be part of it.”
SILVER MEDALLIST UJAH FAILS DOPING TEST
Britain's Olympic 4x100m relay silver medallist Chijindu Ujah has been provisionally suspended for allegedly breaching anti-doping rules at the Tokyo Games, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said on Thursday.
Three other track and field athletes who were suspended during the Games — Moroccan-born Bahraini 1,500m runner Sadik Mikhou, Georgian shot putter Benik Abramyan and Kenyan sprinter Mark Otieno Odhiambo — were also listed.
The AIU said in a statement it had been notified by the doping control laboratory in Tokyo after the Games that Ujah had returned an adverse analytical finding from a test carried out during the Olympics. It listed the prohibited substances detected as ostarine and S-23, both classified by world anti-doping organization WADA as a selective androgen receptor modulator with effects similar to anabolic steroids.
Ujah's relay teammates were Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, whose medals will also be at risk if the positive is confirmed.
The Canadian foursome that earned bronze in the relay — Andre De Grasse, Aaron Brown, Jerome Blake and Brendon Rodney — would be elevated to silver if the British team's medal is stripped.