Cubs and Jake Arrieta tie MLB record despite rare rough outing

There's no such thing as an automatic win in baseball, but Jake Arrieta Day has essentially become that for the Chicago Cubs.

That continued to be true on Wednesday, despite the fact that Arrieta posted his worst outing in over one year.

Arrieta allowed four runs (all earned) on seven hits over five innings, but extended two remarkable streaks as the Cubs ultimately outslugged the Cardinals 9-8.

Arrieta won his 20th straight decision, which in its own right is very impressive. Beyond that, the Cubs have now won the last 23 regular season games started by Arrieta, which ties the MLB record set by the Braves and Kris Medlen.

	ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo
The @Cubs have won each of Jake Arrieta's past 23 starts, tied for the longest such streak in MLB history (2010-12 Kris Medlen) @EliasSports 2:52 PM - 25 May 2016

For further perspective, the Cubs have not lost an Arrieta regular season start since July 25, 2015, which happened to be the day they were no-hit by then Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels. Arrieta has since pitched two no-hitters of his own, while staking his claim as baseball's best pitcher.

As noted, for the first time in a long time, it wasn't pretty on Wednesday. But that only serves to put more focus on how great Arrieta has been over the last two seasons. Arrieta's Game Score (which is explained here) was a 40, which is his lowest total since May 7, 2015, when he posted a 38. The league average Game Score is 50, which indicates that Arrieta's "worst" is merely sub par when compared to other MLB pitchers.

Wednesday's result also shows how difficult it is to put together a run like the one Arrieta and the Cubs are currently enjoying. There has to be a blip on the radar every now and then, but even Wednesday's blip wasn't enough to deter the Cubs. Arrieta's teammates had his back, scoring six runs in the second and three more in the sixth inning. Now, together, they'll have a chance to rewrite history when Arrieta takes the hill against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

Will it be automatic? Far from it. But given all the factors in play, no wise person would bet against the Cubs on Jake Arrieta Day.