Jake Arrieta earned his National League Cy Young Award because of his 95 mph fastball with pinpoint control and a wicked slider that can buckle the knees of opposing hitters.
But Arrieta appreciates different approaches and is getting plenty of enjoyment watching Chicago Cubs teammate Kyle Hendricks frustrate opponents with his crafty style.
“He’s one of the most fun pitchers for me to watch,” Arrieta said before he pitched eight scoreless innings in the Cubs’ 5-3 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night. “He’s out there pitching. He’s breaking down video. He’s scouting according to his stuff and pitches to the report very well.”
“There aren’t many surprises when you face Kyle — you’re going to get a fastball, changeup and occasional curve, but it’s so much harder to hit than it looks. He’s placing the ball right where he needs to 90 to 95 percent of the time and he’s changing speeds.”
Arrieta held his own Tuesday in limiting the Padres to two hits and three walks. But thanks to the power surge of Addison Russell and Kris Bryant, the Cubs didn’t have to rely totally on Arrieta and survived a shaky ninth when closer Aroldis Chapman had to be summoned after three of the first four batters reached safely against rookie Felix Pena.
Russell hit his fifth home run in his last five games, a two-run blast to left-centre field in the fifth inning. Bryant, playing in front of nearly 300 family members and supporters from his days at the University of San Diego, hit his third homer in four games in the third as the Cubs coasted.
Arrieta had been fighting a bout with wildness. He walked a career-high seven in 5 2/3 innings in his last start Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers. Arrieta has spoken with rookie catcher Willson Contreras and coach Mike Borzello about using a slightly higher target to establish his sinker and find the right release point.
“Typically, being under the strike zone with the sinker isn’t a big issue,” Arrieta said. “I need to be a little bit higher with the strike zone earlier in the count. If you miss under with one here and there when you’re ahead, it’s really not an issue.”
“And I got away from using some secondary stuff early (against the Brewers). When I needed to go to it late, I didn’t have the feel for it.”
Despite his control issues, Arrieta was aiming to become the NL’s first 16-game winner. Entering Tuesday, he had limited opponents to a major-league-best .559 on-base plus slugging percentage.
And despite lacking an overpowering fastball, Hendricks (11-7) is second at .587 while leading the majors with a 2.16 ERA. Hendricks is set to pitch Wednesday night in front of several family members and friends who will make the 45-minute drive from South Orange County.
Two of the keys to Hendricks’ success are the wide differential between the velocity of his fastball (often clocked no higher than 90 mph) and his secondary pitches and his teasing of opponents by elevating his fastball.
“When you use that speed differential as much as he does, it makes his fastball appear much faster than it is,” Arrieta said. “That’s why it’s so important to have that gap between your fastball and off-speed pitches. Then when you effectively locate your fastball, it plays at a higher velocity.”
“His ability to pitch near the bottom of the strike zone or under the strike zone with his changeup as well as his fastball — primarily his changeup — allows him to climb the ladder with his fastball pretty much at will.”
“It’s hard to lay off of it because out of (his) hand it looks like it’s going to be a very hittable pitch until it’s 3 or 4 feet from home plate.”

Results
Pittsburgh 7 Houston 1
Baltimore 8 Washington 1
Toronto 7 LA Angels 2
Boston 2 Tampa Bay 1
Kansas City 1 Miami 0
Cincinnati 3 Texas 0
Milwaukee 6 Colorado 4
Detroit 8 Minnesota 3
Chicago White Sox 9 Philadelphia 1
NY Mets 7 St. Louis 4
Atlanta 7 Arizona 4
Oakland 9 Cleveland 1
Chicago Cubs 5 San Diego 3
NY Yankees 5 Seattle 1
LA Dodgers 9 San Francisco 5