Which means it is possible the Cubs can clinch the Division as early as Wednesday afternoon, as they play the next three games in St. Louis.
The Cubs had their hitting shoes on Sunday night after a week of rather lackluster offensive performances. They built up a 9-0 lead in the first four innings and cruised home thereafter.
The only real concern that I had was Arrieta's performance. He was dominant through five innings. Actually, he didn't have to pitch in any real sense with the big lead and spectacular defense. He came a cropper in the sixth inning though, and that can be cause for some worry with the playoffs approaching.
Arrieta clearly has not been the same pitcher he was through the latter half of 2015 and the beginning of 2016. Somehow or other, when he gets in trouble and has to really bear down, he is either over-throwing his pitches or not finishing them. Hitters are laying off borderline stuff when he is in a jam. The result is a lot of deep counts and walks and wild pitches. Some observers had supposed some of these issues were the result of Contreras' inexperience, but on Sunday, David Ross was the catcher and the same thing happened.
That sixth inning was a bit of a nightmare. Maddon was right to take him out when he did even with the big lead. There was no point in adding to his obvious frustration at that point.
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