Arrieta wins 16th straight as Cubs defeat Brewers

CHICAGO — Jake Arrieta’s bid for a second straight nohitter was dashed on his fifth pitch. His Wrigley Field scoreless streak ended at 522⁄3 innings.

Oh, and he won his 16th consecutive decision, the longest streak in the major leagues in a decade.

“I was a little flat today,” the NL Cy Young Award winner said Thursday after leading the Chicago Cubs over the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2.

Chicago improved to 16-5, its best 21-game start since opening 1907 at 17-4.

Arrieta (5-0) gave up one run, three hits and four walks in five innings — the first run he allowed at home since July 25. Alex Presley’s fifth-inning RBI double ended Arrieta’s home scoreless streak, four outs shy of Ray Herbert’s major league record set with the Chicago White Sox in 1962-63.

After throwing 119 pitches at Cincinnati on April 21 in his second no-hitter in a span of 11 regular-season starts, Arrieta had six days’ rest. The Cubs were off Monday, and Wednesday’s game was rained out.

Ben Zobrist hit a two-run single in the first off Taylor Jungmann. David Ross hit solo home run onto Waveland Avenue in the second, and Anthony Rizzo and Tommy La Stella added RBI doubles in the third for a 5-0 lead.

PHILLIES 3, NATIONALS 0: Cameron Rupp hit a tiebreaking, two-run double off Jonathan Papelbon in a threerun ninth inning, and Philadelphia won at Washington to complete a three-game sweep. Aaron Nola, Dalier Hinojosa, Elvis Araujo and Jeanmar Gomez combined on a four-hitter and extended the Nationals’ scoreless streak to 22 innings.

TIGERS 7, ATHLETICS 3: Anthony Gose doubled and homered, Anibal Sanchez pitched through a wild outing, and host Detroit beat Oakland to take three of four in the series. Sanchez allowed two runs and three hits while striking out nine, but he walked seven — one shy of his big league high.

DIAMONDBACKS 3, CARDINALS 0: Rubby De La Rosa struck out a career-high 10 and pitched two-hit ball through seven innings, Chris Herrmann and Brandon Drury homered, and Arizona beat visiting St. Louis.

ORIOLES 10, WHITE SOX 2: Manny Machado hit a grand slam and finished with a career-high five RBIs, helping Baltimore end visiting Chicago’s six-game winning streak.

BRAVES 5, RED SOX 3: Atlanta ended an eight-game losing streak, beating Boston at Fenway Park as Nick Markakis had three singles, a double and three RBIs.