CHICAGO -- In a way, Jake Arrieta is on a philosophical quest: His measuring stick is the platonic ideal of himself, and it’s not an easy one to live up to.
Remove all that you know about Arrieta and his well-publicized arbitrary end points, and Saturday’s outing was fine. Though the Chicago Cubs dropped a 3-2 decision to the San Francisco Giants to snap a five-game winning streak, Arrieta (16-6) held the Giants to three runs, just two earned, over six innings. He drove in a run at the plate, and if the Cubs had fully capitalized on a bases-loaded scoring chance in the sixth, he might have even escaped with another win.