CHICAGO -- Jake Arrieta will have to wait one more day before he tries to become the second pitcher in history to throw consecutive no-hitters.
Rain washed out the Chicago Cubs' game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night, giving Arrieta a sixth day of rest since throwing 119 pitches in no-hitting the Cincinnati Reds last week. Cubs manager Joe Maddon doesn’t skip starters and the Cubs were off Monday, hence the extra time for the reigning Cy Young winner.
The washout also helps the Cubs' catching situation as Miguel Montero is headed to the disabled list with a bad back, forcing David Ross into extra duty. Had Wednesday’s game been played, Ross would've been scheduled to catch all three games in the series, including Thursday’s day game, when Jon Lester throws. Now Ross gets a day between games.
“I don’t want to beat him up,” Maddon said.
Tim Federowicz was summoned from Triple-A Iowa to replace Montero on the roster instead of highly regarded prospect Willson Contreras.
Maddon won’t change the rest of the rotation, as Lester will open the series against the Atlanta Braves, with John Lackey and Jason Hammel following him. That means fifth starter Kyle Hendricks will pitch in Pittsburgh on Monday in the first meeting between the teams since the Cubs beat the Pirates in the wild-card game behind Arrieta’s complete-game shutout.