His mastery has continued unabated this season, to the tune of 6-0, 0.84. He has won a franchise record 17 consecutive decisions dating back to August 1 of last year, during which time he is 17-0 0.55.
He has made opposing batters his bitches.
Arrieta's supremacy over 25 starts has now reached historic levels. No one in history has cooked with more gas for this long. Bob Gibson set the ERA mark in 1968, but that was a season of MLB-wide record lows in virtually every batting category, including runs scored.
Every one of those 25 starts achieved quality start status except his next to last. Manager Joe Maddon pulled Arrieta after 5 1/3 innings with a 5-1 lead against the hapless Brewers. Arrieta blamed himself for chewing up 92 pitches.
So here's the tally for those 25 games: The National League has a .376 OPS against Arrieta. They've fanned 126 times and walked 26. He allows two-thirds of a baserunner per inning, about half the league average.
In other words, against Jake Arrieta, the average hitter, say Rockies' outfielder Charlie Blackmon, who otherwise enjoys a .797 OPS, hits like a pitcher. Reds starter David Dewitt Bailey sports a career mark of .158/.185/.178 for a .362 with six doubles and no homers in his 305 plate appearances. And they call him Homer. That's what the average Major League hitter looks like against Jake Arrieta.
There is one pitcher hitting a prodigious .820 OPS with three homers during that period. That would be Arrieta himself. In those 25 games, all of baseball has managed three homers off him. That's just wrong. He's not just humiliating opposing batters; he's beating up their pitching staffs too.
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