The Chicago Cubs starting rotation enters Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals with a cumulative 2.34 ERA, which would be the lowest combined mark by any team’s starters since 1919, per MLB Stat of the Day.
No starting rotation has finished a season with an ERA below 2.50 since 1981, when the Houston Astros rotation posted a 2.43 mark during a strike-shortened season, per Christopher Kamka of CSN Chicago.
Good health has been a large part of the equation, with Chicago using just five starters all season, as Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel have each started either 13 or 14 games.
Arrieta leads the way in terms of record (11-1), ERA (1.74), WHIP (0.95) and strikeouts (101), with Lackey holding the lead for innings pitched (94.0), just a smidge ahead of Arrieta‘s 93.0 and Lester’s 91.2.
Each of the five starters own a sub-3.00 ERA and sub-1.10 WHIP, and they’ve combined for 49 quality starts in 68 tries, helping the team to a 47-21 record.
The starting rotation has a cumulative 39-15 record, with the also-sturdy bullpen chipping in an 8-6 mark.
If not for the presence of Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw—who is enjoying one of the finest seasons by a starter in MLB history—Arrieta and Lester would both look like strong candidates for the National League Cy Young Award.
As is, Arrieta still has time to make a run at a repeat, but it does appear an injury is the only thing that could truly stand in Kershaw‘s way.
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