Those struggles continued Wednesday night, before the Phillies rallied for a crucial drought-snapping victory over the Washington Nationals. Arrieta lasted only three innings, walking three and giving up four hits — two of which were home runs — en route to a 12.00 ERA for the night, increasing his season ERA to 3.54.
Arrieta said he feels a "huge responsibility. That's why the effort I gave tonight wasn't acceptable. I expect a lot more, as well as my teammates do, from my starts. That's frustrating. But winning that game is a relief."
It took the veteran righthander 75 pitches to get through those three innings, and 75 not-so-great pitches at that: The Nationals swung and missed only once (and on the 74th pitch, no less) and made contact 26 times.