Share Video
Arrieta's dominant start Thursday against the Pirates can be attributed to his sinker, which had more horizontal movement than ever before, Ben Harris of The Athletic Philadelphia reports.
Arrieta's sinker broke 11.46 inches on average -- his previous high was 9.78 inches -- and the pitch generated 11 whiffs, its second-most in any game of his career. The excellent sinker drove a vintage performance for Arrieta in which he struck out 10 and only allowed one hit. It was a reassuring outing coming on the heels of his previous start, in which he struck out just one batter. Arrieta's noisy delivery will naturally lead to some inconsistency, but on nights like Thursday when he has both his command and his electric stuff working, he can put up performances that rival the best starters in the game.
