BOSTON -- It didn't take long to realize that Jacob Arrieta was not going to have the same kind of success at Fenway Park on Friday night that he did in 2014, when he flirted with a no-hitter.
The Red Sox roughed up Arrieta for five runs in the first inning en route to a 5-4 victory over the Cubs to start the Interleague series.
"We got beat today based on their output in the first inning, and that was on me," Arrieta said. "I had some really good stuff. The home run I gave up, got the ball elevated and made a few pitches in spots that I shouldn't have. They strung some hits together and came out ready to play in the first. From that point on, I knew my job was to get as deep in the game as I could."
The biggest hit wasn't Andrew Benitendi's homer with one out or Mookie Betts' double, but a single by Hanley Ramirez that squeaked down the first-base line and drove in Betts.
"That set the whole thing up," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Ramirez's hit.
To his credit, Arrieta stayed in the game and lasted 4 1/3 innings. The outing did snap his streak of 72 straight starts with at least five-plus innings since Sept. 2, 2014. That was the longest by a Cubs pitcher since 1913.
"A lot of guys would've probably been out in the second inning," Arrieta said. "I tried to bear down and do my job from that point on, and did the best I could."
The first inning was a nightmare. He threw 35 pitches between the first out and the second, and needed 42 to finish the frame. Then he retired eight in a row.
"It's definitely nice when you are facing Arrieta to get out in front early, so five runs in the first is big," Benintendi said.
"I made a lot of high-stress pitches in the first inning," Arrieta said. "The numbers aren't where you want them. I like my chances every time I go out there."