Jake Arrieta has had a great 2015 season, but what he just did in August was almost otherworldly. For the month, the Cubs ace was 6-0 and allowed only 19 hits and 2 earned runs across 6 starts that spanned 42.1 innings. Add in 10 runs, 2 errors, and 2 hit batter and you’ve got a total of 33 baserunners allowed; that’s only 5.5 runner per game. For an entire month. Arrieta’s August ERA was a miserly 0.43, his WHIP a microscopic 0.69, and his batting average against an anemic .129.
So how did he do it? Well, the one-grip multi-slider has become one of the most feared pitches in baseball, but Arrieta has a few other arrows in the quiver as well.