'Not even close': Arrieta says tank isn't empty

CHICAGO -- Jake Arrieta was ready for the question on Tuesday night. Before the words within the inquiry were spelled out in their entirety, the veteran Cubs starter interjected with his blunt response.

No, Arrieta insisted, this is not the end of the road for him.

"Not even close," Arrieta said in the wake of a 15-10 loss to the Phillies. "This sucks. Really, it does. But, I'm not going to hang my head. I'm going to continue to work. I'm going to do whatever needs to be done."

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Going into the season, when Arrieta's reunion with the Cubs -- the team that saw him grow into a Cy Young Award winner and World Series champion -- was a feel-good storyline, that question would have seemed improbable before the end of the second half.

Of course, an 11-game losing streak that has sent the Cubs tumbling out of first place and down the National League Central standings was also an improbability. But here Chicago stands, staring at a 42-44 record with its former ace also reeling.

It took 10 pitches for the Phillies to jump to a 4-0 lead on Arrieta -- courtesy of an Andrew McCutchen grand slam -- and the righty was chased after giving up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings. In his last start, the righty also lasted 1 2/3 frames, giving up six runs in a brutal loss in Milwaukee.

Now, Cubs manager David Ross is facing questions about what to do about Arrieta's spot in the rotation.

"I've got to look at that," Ross said. "We've got a lot going on. Eleven losses in a row. I think there's a lot to look at. I'll wrap my brain around this one tonight and try to attack the problems in the morning."

To that end, here is a look within the Cubs' 11-game streak:

• After scoring eight total runs over the previous four games, the Cubs broke out for 10 runs on Tuesday (the most in a game for the Cubs since May 29). Javier Báez belted two homers, Robinson Chirinos delivered a pinch-hit blast and Joc Pederson had a pair of RBIs in the team's 14-hit flurry.

"The offense may have found a spark," Ross said. "Hopefully, we can carry some of that into [Wednesday] and get better in the other areas we were weak in."

• Including Tuesday's production, Chicago's lineup has hit .224/.306/.365 with a 30.8 percent strikeout rate and 35 runs scored over the 11 losses. The team was averaging 2.5 runs per game in the 10 losses prior to the 10-run outburst.

• Overall, the pitching staff has a 6.75 ERA in 90 2/3 innings over the 11 losses. That includes a 5.88 ERA for the rotation and a 7.78 ERA for the bullpen.

• This marks the 11th time in team history (including the team's late 19th-century years) that the Cubs have lost 11 games in a row in the same season. Chicago has dropped a dozen straight just seven times -- the last from May 15-27, 2012.

While the offense has been the primary issue throughout the losing streak as a whole, Arrieta's struggles have been of increasing concern.

Over his past eight outings, the starter has a 9.67 ERA (29 earned runs in 27 innings), going back to May 30. His ERA is 8.55 over his past 12 turns, dating back to April 30. That dozen-start stretch came after Arrieta spun a 2.57 ERA in his first five outings.

"I've been in similar situations in my career," Arrieta said. "I've been in worse situations than this."

According to Baseball Reference, there have been 18 instances in Arrieta's career in which he allowed at least 29 earned runs in an eight-game stretch. The current eight-start span, however, features the fewest innings -- by far.

One problem the Cubs have right now is a lack of depth for the rotation, even if they wanted to replace Arrieta. One possibility could be Trevor Williams, who was activated from the injured list prior to Tuesday's game and worked 3 2/3 innings in relief.

Right now, Arrieta's next scheduled start would fall on Sunday against the Cardinals in the last game before the All-Star break. Chicago could go with a spot starter and then use the season's intermission to discuss the situation and hit the reset button for the second half.

"I've seen him at his best and what he's been able to do," Ross said. "I still feel like there's a better version of him in there somewhere. I think it's on him, and us, to try to figure out how to unlock that. I've seen too many good outings to believe this version of him.

"And maybe that's me being naive, but I know there's more in there. The [radar] gun says pretty good numbers. This guy's meant so much to the franchise, and to me, personally, that it's a hard thing for me to wrap my brain around."