f-season trade, Lopez finis

CHICAGO -- Each start was remarkably similar. Yeezy Australia Store . That smooth, efficient motion. The devastating array of pitches. The easy cool that quickly spreads to his teammates, who are so confident when he takes the mound. A year after a disappointing departure from Baltimore, Jake Arrieta is thriving in Chicago. The 6-foot-4 right-hander is unbeaten in his last eight starts after beginning the season on the disabled list due to shoulder tightness, providing a glimmer of hope as the lowly Cubs stumbled to last place in the NL Central at the All-Star break. "Jake knows it now, hes our new horse and thats what we want," first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. "We want him to be that ace and just keep getting all the confidence in the world because hes pitching very confident right now and its been fun to watch." Arrietas undefeated stretch began with one of his shortest outings of the season, when he lasted just 4 2-3 innings on June 3 against the New York Mets. He gave up seven hits and walked three, but he allowed just one first-inning run in Chicagos 2-1 victory. Then he really put on a show. Arrieta pitched six shutout innings against Miami, and seven more against Philadelphia. He retired his first 18 batters in a victory over Cincinnati. He was so good against the Red Sox that the fans at Fenway Park saluted him with a loud ovation when he departed after Bostons first hit with two out in the eighth. Heading into Sundays start at Arizona, Arrieta is 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA and a .160 opponents batting average during his impressive six-week run. "Hes got a good slider and hes got a very deceptive way that he comes at you," Reds All-Star catcher Devin Mesoraco said. "Its really cross-bodied and its almost like hes throwing from behind you, so its a heck of an angle to try to hit the ball from, especially for a right-hander." Arrietas repertoire includes a fastball that sits in the low 90s, a big curveball and a circle changeup that he mixes in to prevent hitters from sitting on his fastball. But its that slider and his ability to use it as a cut fastball that has been particularly effective. "Its a cutter and a slider depending on what I want it to be," he said, before running through how he uses it in different situations. "Its one pitch, but I can throw it multiple different ways at different velocities." Arrieta was selected by the Orioles in the fifth round of the 2007 draft out of TCU. He made his major league debut three years later at age 24, and won 10 games the following season. He drew Baltimores opening-day start in 2012, and threw seven scoreless innings in a victory over Minnesota on the 20th anniversary of the opening of Camden Yards. It looked as if he could be a key contributor for the Orioles for years to come, but that was really the beginning of the end when it came to his time in Baltimore. Arrieta shuffled back and forth between Triple-A Norfolk and Baltimore before he was traded to Chicago last July. The contending Orioles also sent reliever Pedro Strop to the Cubs in return for pitcher Scott Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger. "I was bombarded by information from 50 different sources, which is never beneficial to anybody, I dont care who you are," Arrieta said, reflecting on his departure from the Orioles. "You got four or five different sports psychologists trying to reach out to you, you got seven different coaches trying to implement some input, you know that never works. It just kind of made things go in the opposite direction." Arrieta credits the change of scenery and his experience in developing a successful routine as two big reasons for his recent success. He also has a solid relationship with pitching coach Chris Bosio, who has become quite the asset for the Cubs when it comes to turning around cheap reclamation projects. Next up for Arrieta is just building on his solid first part of the season. Chicago traded Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to Oakland on July, making Arrietas starts even more important for the Cubs for the rest of the year. They believe he is up to the challenge of anchoring the staff. "I think when he goes out there on the hill, hes got a calmness about him," manager Rick Renteria said. "Hes got some poise and hopefully this is now a turning point, it continues to be a turning point for him in his career and he continues to move forward and hes able to take advantage of that great stuff hes got." Yeezy Boost For Sale Australia . -- Justin Verlander took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning and won his fourth straight decision, leading Detroit over the Kansas City Royals 9-4 Sunday and extending the Tigers winning streak to a season-high five games. Buy Yeezy Boost Wholesale . The Reds will host the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in the opener of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park, and the debut matchup will feature a pair of pitchers whose recent resumes have included a fair number of bases-clearing hits. http://www.wholesaleyeezyaustralia.com/ . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. PORTLAND, Ore. -- As time wound down in the Trail Blazers victory over the Oklahoma City, LaMarcus Aldridge was showered with shouts of "MVP! MVP!" from the Portland fans. Aldridge had a season-high 38 points and added 13 rebounds in the Blazers 111-104 win Wednesday night that snapped the Thunders eight-game winning streak. It was his ninth double-double and 15th game with at least 20 points this season. He made a career-high 17 field goals. "Just surreal. It was humbling to have that moment here," Aldridge said of the crowds reaction. "Ive been here so long and Ive had very few of those type of chants here. So that was fun. I thought that made the night complete for me." The victory gives the surprising Blazers a 16-3 record this season, best in the Western Conference and second only to Indiana overall. Portland has won 14 of its last 15 games, a stretch that includes an 11-game winning streak. Nicolas Batums 3-pointer with 29.9 seconds to go all but sealed it for Portland, which had lost seven straight against Oklahoma City. The Thunder led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but Aldridge led a third-quarter rally and Portland built a 91-84 lead on consecutive 3-pointers from Dorell Wright and Damian Lillard with 7:58 left. Russell Westbrooks 3-pointer pulled the Thunder within 95-94 before Reggie Jacksons two free throws gave them a short-lived lead with 5:34 to go. Aldridge hit a layup and a jumper to make it 105-100 for the Blazers. Durant and Westbrook narrowed it again with consecutive baskets, but Batums 3-pointer made it 108-104 before Durant missed a 3 on the other end. The Blazers made free throws for the final margin. Durant finished with 33 for the Thunder, who were playing the second game of a back-to-back after defeating Sacramento 97-95 Tuesday night. Westbrook had 21 points. "He was shooting turnarounds from almost the 3-point line over the top of our bigs and knocking them down," Durant said of Aldridge. "Thats what great players do, they come through in the clutch and make shots." Batum and Lillard added 14 points apiece for the Blazers, who were coming off a 106-102 victory over Indiana on Monday. Portland is 8-1 at home. Aldridge scored 16 of his points in the third quarter, when the Blazers outscored the Thunder 35-21. Yeezy Wholesale Authentic. "I dont know if I have the words, to be honest," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of Aldridges night. "Offensively, obviously he can score. But I liked his toughness, I liked his leadership, I liked his competitive fire. As much as he played very well, it was a lot of the intangibles that I really appreciated from him tonight." Wrights bank jumper evened the game at 27 to start the second quarter. It was close throughout the half, with Portlands Batum on Durant much of the time. Durant took off on a fast break for a dunk and added a free throw to give the Thunder a 55-47 lead, their biggest of the game to that point. Westbrook attempted a 3-pointer and the refs called a foul on Portlands Wesley Matthews, prompting an angry reaction from Stotts, who was given a technical, and the Thunder finished the half on a 9-0 for a 59-48 advantage. Durant led all scorers in the half with 17 points. "They hit a lot of tough 2s on us, shots we can live with," Durant said. "But they made enough to beat us." One bright spot for the Blazers was centre Robin Lopez, who had 12 points and five rebounds in the first half. Acquired by the Blazers from New Orleans in a three-team off-season trade, Lopez finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Batums 3 got the Blazers within 67-64 before Matthews layup got them within one midway through the third quarter. Batums pull-up jumper gave Portland a 70-69 lead, and Aldridge added a long jumper. The Blazers clung to the lead until Durants jumper tied it at 78, but Aldridge answered with a turnaround jumper to cap a 10-point streak for the two-time All-Star. "Ive been saying it from the start -- hes the best power forward in the game," Matthews said NOTES: Oklahoma City is 9-0 at home but 4-4 on the road. ... Portland has lost only one game at home this season. ... Oregon State receiver Brandin Cooks and running back Storm Woods were at the game. The Beavers (6-6) are waiting to see if theyre headed to a bowl in the post-season. ... Oregon Ducks receiver Josh Huff was also at the game. ... Coming off a six-game home stand, Oklahoma City is playing three games in four nights before heading home to face Indiana on Sunday. ... Lopez has seven double-doubles this season. ' ' '