Levine: Jake Arrieta Not Concerned About Bad Outing

By Bruce Levine--

GLENDALE, Ariz. (CBS) -- With 20 days to go before his first 2015 outing, Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta chooses to concentrate on the positives after allowing five runs in his Wednesday outing, a Chicago win against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"There were some situations and at-bats where I got behind in the count," he said. "I served something up that was a little too good and they got some in the air. After the second it kind of rolled well."

Arrieta, who should have two full starts and a side session left in spring training, will be counted on to carry a big innings load in 2015. He and ace Jon Lester are expected to lead the Cubs' evolving rotation in quality starts.

"Things are starting to come together now," he said. "We are all getting moved out a bit. You want to work your sequences successfully. You want to be crisp, and for the most part I felt I had three in a row there in the second inning. I did a better job of executing there. At the end of the day, I don't know the pitch count but my body feels good the timing is fine. I need to establish my visuals better."

Arrieta was as dominant as any National League pitcher not named Clayton Kershaw in the second half of 2014. His 10-5 record also had a stingy 2.53 ERA attached to it. Establishing a complete season with a 200-inning load behind the other numbers is all that is left for the pitcher to secure his newly found prestige.

"I am just trying to get a feel for my fastball," Arrieta said. "I then will incorporate that as much as I can with the off-speed pitches. The most important thing is to keep the arm speed and the hitter's visual of the fastball the same as when you are changing speeds. I need to be more precise with my pitches so I am not in many hitter friendly counts."

The 29-year-old Arrieta struck out five and walked one Wednesday, while throwing two wild pitches and picking up the win.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.