The Pirates faced Arrieta five times this season and won only one of those games. They struck out more often than they got on base against him.
"We know what to expect," Andrew McCutchen said. "There's no surprises. We know what we're going to get. We've just got to go out there and get the job done."
That's much easier said than done. Arrieta has allowed two home runs in his last 20 starts. In the second half, he has hit for a higher OPS (.556) than he has allowed (.409). He's thrown four complete games, three shutouts and a no-hitter.