Jake Arrieta makes history with Game 3 home run
Jake Arrieta’s three-run homer in the second inning of Game 3 looked like for eight innings it would be enough for the Cubs to take care of the Giants. The bullpen could not hold the lead and gave up three runs in the eighth. Kris Bryant tied it in the ninth but the Cubs could not push across a run before the Giants did in the 13th inning to force a Game 4.
Jake Arrieta supplied the big hit early with the first home run ever allowed by Madison Bumgarner to a pitcher.
Arrieta crushed the ball. Arrieta’s home run had a 106.2 mph exit velocity, the fifth hardest hit home run by a pitcher in the Statcast era.
The Cubs (Travis Wood, Jake Arrieta) joined the 1924 New York Giants (Jack Bentley, Rosy Ryan) as the only two teams in postseason history to have two pitchers hit home runs in the same series. And the Cubs became the first team with multiple home runs by pitchers in a single postseason since the 1970 Orioles. Mike Cuellar hit a home run in the American League Championship Series and Dave McNally hit a round-tripper in the World Series.
Arrieta became the fourth Cy Young Award winner to hit a postseason home run. Arrieta joined Bob Gibson, Rick Sutcliffe and Steve Carlton as the only four pitchers to accomplish the feat in the history of the game.
Jake Arrieta is the first pitcher to hit a postseason home run on the road since Steve Carlton in Game 3 of the 1978 NLCS. Arrieta was the first visiting pitcher to hit a homer at AT&T Park since Zack Greinke (Sept. 13, 2014), two years ago.
The Cubs are now tied with the ’58 Braves and ’70 Orioles (ALCS) for the most RBI by a team’s pitchers in a postseason series.