PITTSBURGH -- Jake Arrieta dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates yet again, scattering two hits in seven shutout innings as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-1 on Tuesday night.
Seven months after shutting the Pirates down in the NL wild card playoff, Arrieta allowed only singles to Sean Rodriguez in the second and Francisco Cervelli in the seventh. Arrieta (6-0) struck out five and walked two while lowering his ERA to 0.84. He became the second six-game winner in the major leagues after Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox.
Kris Bryant had three hits for the Cubs, who have won seven of eight and moved five games ahead of Pittsburgh in the NL Central.
Jon Niese (3-1) gave up six runs and nine hits over five innings while losing for the first time since the Pirates acquired him from the New York Mets in an offseason trade (see full recap).
Wisler, Braves shut out Mets
NEW YORK -- Matt Wisler wiped out the New York Mets with eight innings of one-hit ball and Mallex Smith hit a rare Atlanta homer off a scuffling Matt Harvey, sending the Braves to a 3-0 victory Tuesday night.
Asdrubal Cabrera's clean single to center field with one out in the fifth was the lone hit for the defending NL champions. Wisler (1-2) walked two, struck out four and beat the Mets for the third time in his two-year career.
A.J. Pierzynski added an RBI double and the Braves, with the worst record in the majors at 7-19, won for the third time in five games following an eight-game skid.
Philadelphia Phillies
Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Harvey (2-4) didn't feel well Monday and was given fluids to help him recover Tuesday afternoon, Mets manager Terry Collins said (see full recap).
Giants rally late for win over Reds
CINCINNATI -- Jeff Samardzija went eight innings to win his third straight start -- a career first -- and the San Francisco Giants rallied for two runs in the eighth inning against the Reds' historically bad bullpen for a 3-1 victory Tuesday night.
Cincinnati's bullpen gave up at least one run for the 21st consecutive game, surpassing the 2013 Colorado Rockies for the major league record, according to information provided by the Reds from the Elias Sports Bureau.
With the game tied 1-1, Kelby Tomlinson drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single off Caleb Cotham (0-1). Gregor Blanco followed with another run-scoring single, putting the Giants in position for their fifth straight win at Great American Ball Park.
Samardzija (4-1) had been 0-5 in his last nine starts against the Reds, but limited them to three hits -- including Adam Duvall's homer -- to end the slump (see full recap).
