PITTSBURGH -AP- Jake Arrieta dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates yet again, scattering two hits in seven shutout innings as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 on Tuesday night.Seven months after shutting the Pirates down in the NL wild card playoff, Arrieta allowed only singles to Sean Rodriguez in the second and Francisco Cervelli in the seventh. 
Arrieta (6-0) struck out five and walked two while lowering his ERA to 0.84. He became the second six-game winner in the major leagues after Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox.Kris Bryant had three hits for the Cubs, who have won seven of eight and moved five games ahead of Pittsburgh in the NL Central.Jon Niese (3-1) gave up six runs and nine hits over five innings while losing for the first time since the Pirates acquired him from the New York Mets in an offseason trade.Two starts removed from his second career no-hitter, Arrieta kept on going. His only real trouble spot came in the first, when he issued consecutive walks to John Jaso and Andrew McCutchen. A strikeout, a fielder's choice and a harmless grounder back to the mound later, Arrieta haf his bearings. The Pirates could do little to stop him even with manager Clint Hurdle using an unorthodox lineup.Pittsburgh didn't get a runner to second the rest of the night against Arrieta. The Cubs have won each of Arrieta's last 19 starts. He became the first Chicago pitcher to win each of his first six starts in a season since Mordecai Brown won his first 11 starts in 1908, which is also the last time the Cubs won the World Series.Pittsburgh wants to be in the mix with Chicago and St. Louis, but the first series of what is becoming a hotly contested rivalry has been decidedly one-sided. The Cubs have outscored the Pirates 14-3 in the first two games.This one lacked the vitriol that accompanied Chicago's 7-2 romp on Monday night when Cubs manager Joe Maddon traded words with Pirates players. Chicago was too busy getting to Niese, obtained for popular second baseman Neil Walker.Niese has benefited from the second-best run support in the NL, one of the reasons he came in undefeated. The Cubs, however, wasted little time taking control. Chicago jumped in front 2-0 in the second on a run-scoring groundout by Javier Baez and an RBI single by Arrieta. The Cubs tagged Niese for four more runs in the fourth as Niese struggled with his command. Addison Russel scored on a wild pitch, Jorge Soler and Bryant followed with RBI singles and Rizzo smacked a run-scoring double as Niese's ERA rose to 5.84.That was more than enough offense for Arrieta, who left after 99 pitches and his winning streak firmly intact.Rodriguez scored Pittsburgh's only run in the eighth on Jaso's single.
Arrieta (6-0) struck out five and walked two while lowering his ERA to 0.84. He became the second six-game winner in the major leagues after Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox.Kris Bryant had three hits for the Cubs, who have won seven of eight and moved five games ahead of Pittsburgh in the NL Central.Jon Niese (3-1) gave up six runs and nine hits over five innings while losing for the first time since the Pirates acquired him from the New York Mets in an offseason trade.Two starts removed from his second career no-hitter, Arrieta kept on going. His only real trouble spot came in the first, when he issued consecutive walks to John Jaso and Andrew McCutchen. A strikeout, a fielder's choice and a harmless grounder back to the mound later, Arrieta haf his bearings. The Pirates could do little to stop him even with manager Clint Hurdle using an unorthodox lineup.Pittsburgh didn't get a runner to second the rest of the night against Arrieta. The Cubs have won each of Arrieta's last 19 starts. He became the first Chicago pitcher to win each of his first six starts in a season since Mordecai Brown won his first 11 starts in 1908, which is also the last time the Cubs won the World Series.Pittsburgh wants to be in the mix with Chicago and St. Louis, but the first series of what is becoming a hotly contested rivalry has been decidedly one-sided. The Cubs have outscored the Pirates 14-3 in the first two games.This one lacked the vitriol that accompanied Chicago's 7-2 romp on Monday night when Cubs manager Joe Maddon traded words with Pirates players. Chicago was too busy getting to Niese, obtained for popular second baseman Neil Walker.Niese has benefited from the second-best run support in the NL, one of the reasons he came in undefeated. The Cubs, however, wasted little time taking control. Chicago jumped in front 2-0 in the second on a run-scoring groundout by Javier Baez and an RBI single by Arrieta. The Cubs tagged Niese for four more runs in the fourth as Niese struggled with his command. Addison Russel scored on a wild pitch, Jorge Soler and Bryant followed with RBI singles and Rizzo smacked a run-scoring double as Niese's ERA rose to 5.84.That was more than enough offense for Arrieta, who left after 99 pitches and his winning streak firmly intact.Rodriguez scored Pittsburgh's only run in the eighth on Jaso's single.
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