CHICAGO -- Each start was remarkably similar. Antonio Blakeney Jersey . 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." John Paxson Jersey .Under the agreement announced Monday, the Cuban defector is guaranteed $68.5 million over six seasons.Tomas gets a $14 million signing bonus that is payable within 30 days of the deals approval by Major League Baseball, and then salaries of $2 million next year, $4 million in 2016, $6 million in 2017 and $10 million in 2018. Zach LaVine Jersey . But qualifying for her first Scotties Tournament of Hearts after years of falling short in tough Manitoba provincial championships is as good as consolation prizes get for the 29-year-old from Winnipegs Fort Rouge Curling Club. http://www.officialbullsfanstore.com/kids-justin-holiday-bulls-jersey/ . The turf is scheduled to give way to actual grass that is bright green, so we dont have to complain any more—we just have to wait a few years. Instead, do feel free to complain if the roof is closed for any reason other than to allow a game to be played.LOS ANGELES -- Zack Greinke is in midseason form. Cole Hamels is just starting his season. Greinke outpitched Hamels with seven strong innings, Hanley Ramirez homered and Yasiel Puig drove in two runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night. "It wasnt like everything was incredible, but I could use anything in or away at any time," Greinke said. "For the most part, throughout my whole career, Ive had at least two pitches. There have been very few games where I dont have two pitches working, and usually theres three." Greinke (4-0) allowed two runs and five hits while striking out 11 and walking one batter intentionally. Manager Don Mattingly tried to squeeze one more inning out of the right-hander, but lifted him after Jayson Nix drove Greinkes 108th pitch to left-centre for a leadoff homer. J.P. Howell got three outs in the eighth, and Kenley Jansen pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save after the Dodgers picked up a couple of insurance runs in the eighth on Ramirezs leadoff homer to centre and Justin Turners RBI single off Shawn Camp. Greinke is off to the second-best start of his 11-year career. He won his first six decisions in 2009 with Kansas City, when he finished 16-8 and established career bests with a 2.16 ERA and 242 strikeouts en route to the AL Cy Young Award. "Hes been a great pitcher. He took off in Kansas City when he won that Cy Young and hes been good ever since," Hamels said. "Hes a true competitor and hes pretty smart. He definitely knows how to pitch, and you know when you have to face a guy like him, you have to keep the other guy from scoring because hes going to do the same." It was Greinkes 18th double-digit strikeout game in the majors and his first in 33 starts with the Dodgers. This was the 17th consecutive start in which Greinke pitched at least five innings while allowing fewer than three runs. Hamels took the loss in his season debut, after missing the first three weeks because of biceps tendinitis. The 30-year-old left-hander made 86 pitches, allowing two runs and six hits over six innings with five strikes and a walk. He made 30 or more starts in each of the previous six seasons, so starting the season this late was an adjustment for him. "Thats in the past. I dont really think about last year or last week. I just keep going forwward and try to get healthy," Hamels said. Custom Chicago Bulls Jersey. "I was worried about what I had to do -- build up my pitch going and get ready to start every five days. Thats what transpired for the past couple of weeks. Thats kind of all I could do. "I knew what I was going into. It was just a matter of preparing myself just like I normally have and getting ready in a spring training-type setting. It was just a couple of weeks later than everybody else." Puig struck out his first two times up, but lined an RBI single to right in the fifth to put the Dodgers ahead 2-1 after Hamels gave up a two-out single by Drew Butera and walked Greinke. "You can never walk the pitcher. I understand Greinke is a very good hitter, but at the same time, you have to let him hit his way on," Hamels said. "That right there was the ballgame. It decided everything in terms of what transpired in the next inning and it racked up my pitch count right there." Juan Uribes sacrifice fly gave Los Angeles 1-0 lead in the second, after Matt Kemp led off with the first of his two doubles. Ryan Howard tied it in the fourth with an RBI single after a leadoff double by Jimmy Rollins. "One of the keys, where Rollins hit that leadoff double, I didnt even try to keep him from scoring," Greinke said. "It would be really tough. As long as you just limit it to that one run, its not that big of a deal. Thats kind of the mindset. Its been working." Greinke had nine strikeouts through the first five innings, including five in a row after Howards hit. Greinke doubled with two outs in the seventh and scored on Puigs triple off the right field fence. NOTES: Two-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw will make a minor league rehab start on Friday with Class A Rancho Cucamonga as he works his way back from a muscle strain in his upper back. He last pitched for the Dodgers in a season-opening 3-1 win over Arizona during the teams two-game visit to Australia. ... The Phillies have 18 extra-base hits over their last four games after getting none in their previous four -- the clubs longest drought since a four-game stretch in May 1968. ... Dodgers 1B and cleanup hitter Adrian Gonzalez, whose 16-game hitting streak ended Tuesday, didnt start for the first time this season. 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