PHILADELPHIA _ Big games? Jake Arrieta has pitched in more than a few.
Arrieta started the National League wild-card game in 2015 and tossed a five-hit shutout for the Chicago Cubs. A year later, with the Sons of Theo Epstein facing elimination, Arrieta took the ball in Game 6 of the World Series and beat the Cleveland Indians. And he kept the Cubs alive last season, too, in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series.
Those were truly big games. A Wednesday night game in the middle of May? Not so much.
But in the context of the Phillies' universe, where there hasn't been much meaningful baseball played in seven years, manager Gabe Kapler's pregame over exuberance for a rubber match against the division-leading Atlanta Braves seemed perfectly understandable.
"This is a big game for us tonight," Kapler said before batting practice, "and I think it's worth noting that we're all thinking about it that way."
Leave it to Arrieta, then, to deliver the goods. Kapler's biggest big-game pitcher _ at least until ace Aaron Nola gets a crack at the postseason _ blanked the Braves for 6 2/3 innings in a 4-0 victory that gave the Phillies a series victory and pushed them back to within a half-game of the top spot in the NL East.
Arrieta gave up two hits in each of the first two innings and lived to tell about it. From there, he cruised. He struck out the heart of the Braves' order _ Ronald Acuna Jr., Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis _ in the third inning and retired 15 of 16 batters between Johan Camargo's second-inning single and a seventh-inning single by Ender Inciarte.
The Phillies, meanwhile, scratched out just enough offense to give Arrieta a lead. In the third inning, they even scored a run without hitting the ball out of the infield. And to continue with the big-game theme, Carlos Santana's RBI dribbler up the third-base line with the bases loaded was reminiscent of Carlos Ruiz's winning hit in Game 3 of the World Series in 2008, a time when South Philly hosted big games every autumn.
Arrieta contributed to a fourth-inning rally with a sacrifice bunt that moved Scott Kingery into scoring position for Cesar Hernandez's RBI single. Maikel Franco doubled home a run in the fifth inning, and Nick Williams did the same with a pinch-hit double in the eighth.
The bullpen did its part, too. Rookie sensation Seranthony Dominguez mowed through the top of the Braves' order, recording four outs on only 12 pitches. And embattled closer Hector Neris overcame a leadoff single and a two-out walk in a scoreless ninth inning.
But Arrieta set the tone. He struck out seven batters and walked only one in the latest gem by a Phillies starter.
More than anything, the rotation is the reason the Phils are 28-19, their best start since the 102-win 2011 season. Between then, Nola, Arrieta, Nick Pivetta, Vince Velasquez and the No. 5 spot of Zach Eflin and Ben Lively have combined for a 3.27 ERA. And that's the reason Kapler looked at his crystal ball Wednesday and predicted his team will still be in playoff contention when it sees the Braves again on Sept. 20.
As Arrieta can surely attest, shutdown starting pitching is the best way to win when the games really do get big.
