LOS ANGELES – When Jake Arrieta battled his command in the spring, he was confident that if he could rectify that one issue, he’d be in for a great season. Arrieta led all of baseball in batting average against last season for the second year in a row. Because of that, the righty believed if he got the walks under control, he’d be able to thrive once again.
After allowing just one walk in six innings on Friday, Arrieta’s walk rate dipped to 6.1 percent, three and a half points better than his so-so 2016 season. However, he was once against bitten by the few mistakes he made in the zone, as the Los Angeles Dodgers slugged a pair of homers and an RBI double off Arrieta en route to a 4-0 victory.