CHICAGO -- Reaching out to offseason targets is nothing new for Cubs manager David Ross. The phone call to Jake Arrieta was different. Ross did not need to sell the veteran pitcher on the team, city or the environment around Wrigley Field.
"He knew about this place," Ross said on Saturday morning.
Arrieta more than knew about the Cubs. He helped set the winning culture that the franchise and its fans have come to expect. And on Saturday afternoon, Arrieta was back on the hill for the North Siders, leading the way to a 5-1 victory over the Pirates.
This time around, the 35-year-old Arrieta was back more as a savvy veteran than overpowering ace. He still flashed some vintage pitches -- like the curveball that dove under Bryan Reynolds' bat for a first-inning strikeout -- but Chicago fans will have to adjust to this new version of a familiar bearded face.
“I've been anticipating this day for a while,” Arrieta said. “It's just like I remember it.”
Arrieta said he enjoyed spending the past few days riding his motorized scooter around Wrigleyville on his way to the ballpark, chatting up passersby when he slowed at a red light or stop sign. Those interactions brought memories flooding back, helping to stir the excitement of the months to come this summer and fall.
“The appreciation is very special to myself and everybody here,” Arrieta said. “And I think the more we embrace it, the better we are for it.”
It had been 417 regular-season games since Arrieta's last regular-season start for the Cubs at Wrigley on Aug. 29, 2017, when he spun six shutout innings against the Pirates. The right-hander went six frames again against Pittsburgh on Saturday, limiting the Bucs to one first-inning run and picking up five strikeouts along the way.
Cubs fans remember Arrieta for a 95-plus mph fastball and devastating slider/cutter, which he combined with a four-seamer, curve and occasional changeup. Per Statcast, Arrieta leaned heavily on his sinker (62 percent) against the Pirates, averaging 91.2 mph. He then turned to the curve (23 percent) and slider/cutter (15 percent) as his secondary options.
Arrieta’s pitch distribution was part design and part response on Saturday. He recognized early on that his cutter was not functioning properly, and the righty also opted against mixing in the change. That left the sinker and curve for the heavy lifting, but Arrieta found a way to make it work.
“That's a really good sign,” Arrieta said of his ability to adjust in-game.
It was an immediate example of how Arrieta hopes the many hours he dedicated this spring to fine-tuning his delivery can pay dividends. He feels healthy now after a few injury-marred seasons with the Phillies and is trying to correct some mechanical habits developed in that span.
“If the timing and the arm slot are there,” Arrieta said, “everything plays up a notch, really. It's the late break on the curveball. It's the hard movement down and in to lefties with the cutter. And it's the late life on the changeup.”
Just like old times.
Kris Bryant broke into the big leagues in 2015, when Arrieta dominated the league to the tune of a 1.77 ERA and captured the National League Cy Young Award. Jason Heyward joined Chicago in 2016, when Arrieta won two of the Cubs' World Series games. Bryant and Heyward each homered Saturday as part of Arrieta's return.
Javier Báez, who began growing into a superstar during Arrieta’s first tour with the Cubs, stole two bases, collected two hits, scored and drove in a run to help the pitcher’s cause, too.
“You can kind of get feelings of old in new times,” Heyward said. “I think it's pretty special, getting Jake back out here with his attitude, his mindset.”
During Spring Training, Arrieta said he had "butterflies" and a lot of nervous energy about returning to Wrigley Field in front of Cubs fans, following his three years spent with the Phillies. On Opening Day on Thursday, the pitcher received some of the loudest cheers from the limited-capacity crowd during the pregame introductions.
As Arrieta emerged from the dugout Saturday, the fans inside the Friendly Confines welcomed him with a standing ovation. There were "Welcome back, Jake" signs spotted in the stands. The noise level in the old ballpark grew in anticipation of his first pitch to Pirates leadoff man Adam Frazier.
In that opening frame, Arrieta walked rookie Ke'Bryan Hayes, who later came around to score on a single by Kevin Newman. After firing 25 pitches in the first, the Cubs' veteran settled in. He needed just nine pitches to get through each of the next two innings, and quieted Pittsburgh's rally attempts the rest of the way.
“It's probably first-time-out-there nerves,” Ross said. “The heart rate gets up. I don’t care how many years you've been doing it.”
Arrieta finished with five strikeouts in his performance, which helped the Cubs notch their first win of the 2021 campaign. He also won his previous outing for Chicago in Game 4 of the 2017 NLCS against the Dodgers. That also happens to be the Cubs' last postseason victory.
The Cubs hope to add more with Arrieta this October.
“It just brought back good memories of having him on the mound,” Bryant said.