served on the Executive Board of the NHL Officials Associa

CHICAGO -- Jake Arrieta almost certainly wont win a second straight NL Cy Young Award. He likely wont be the No. 1 or 2 postseason pitcher for the loaded Chicago Cubs, either.Arrieta showed Friday he can still dominate. And he figures its because hes stopped trying so hard.Arrieta struck out 10 in seven innings and the Cubs beat the sloppy St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 for their 98th victory, the most since they last played in the World Series in 1945. Chicago clinched home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.A lot of the time more effort creates some inconsistencies in my delivery, Arrieta said. Trying to do more than I have to. I had several outs today where I took my foot off the gas and I was at 60-70 percent and got nice, easy groundballs to second base or shortstop.Manager Joe Maddon said Arrieta looked familiar when he struck out the side on 11 pitches in the first inning, a reference to his 22-win 2015 season that included a 1.77 ERA. Arrieta said competitiveness and stubbornness have been the reasons his walks, hits and runs are up from a year ago.Weve been hyper-critical of him all year based on what he did last year, Maddon said. But to his credit, I think hes handled that very well.With veteran Miguel Montero back catching him, Arrieta (18-7) allowed five hits and walked one. Anthony Rizzo had three hits and Ben Zobrist drove in two runs as the Cubs tied a team record with their 56th home win.Chicago scored four runs in the first inning off Mike Leake (9-11) and dropped the Cardinals 1 1/2 games behind the Mets and a half-game behind the Giants for the two NL wild-card berths.Pedro Strop came off the disabled list to work the eighth, and Travis Wood and Carl Edwards Jr. finished the five-hitter.Rizzo, Zobrist and Chris Coghlan drove in runs in the first off Leake, who lasted 3 1/3 innings and is winless in four starts since recovering from shingles.I couldnt locate early. I was slightly erratic, Leake said. I just started out on the wrong foot.Leake allowed another run on one of two wild pitches. Cardinals gaffes included Kolten Wong face-planting into the turf chasing Rizzos first-inning double and Matt Adams getting picked off first.Leake gave up five runs, seven hits and three walks. Manager Mike Matheny used six relievers.The Cardinals are hoping to return to Wrigley Field in two weeks. But that requires earning one of the two wild-card berths and then winning the single-elimination game for a spot in the division series.Zobrists fourth-inning groundout added another run for Chicago (98-55), which has won four straight.The Cubs have so much depth as they seek their first World Series title since 1908 that Arrieta is likely the No. 3 playoff starter behind Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks.But Arrieta feels if he can control his effort, hell be at his best come October.I dont give up many hits, Arrieta said. So if I can keep guys off base via the walk, Im going to be in a pretty good spot.TRAINERS ROOMCardinals: LF Matt Holliday (broken right thumb) took batting practice off RHP Mike Mayers before the game. He blistered a couple balls, Matheny said. It was exciting to see. Holliday will likely have another BP session before hes activated. ... SS Aledmys Diaz (arm fatigue) was out of the lineup.Cubs: Strop (knee, groin) worked around a leadoff walk in his first appearance since Aug. 10. Once he settled in and the slider became his pitch again, he felt at home, Maddon said.GROOMSMAN STRIKES OUTArrieta and Cardinals 2B Matt Carpenter were college teammates at TCU. Arrieta was Carpenters wedding groomsman. Yet Carpenter cant solve his friend. He went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts, leaving him 0 for 24 in the regular season against Arrieta.CARDINALS ROTATIONLHP Jaime Garcia will take the Cardinals rotation spot of struggling RHP Luke Weaver on Monday vs. Cincinnati.ROSS RECOGNIZEDCubs chairman Tom Ricketts presented retiring C David Ross with the No. 3 from the Wrigley Field manual scoreboard before the game.UP NEXTRHP Jason Hammel (15-9, 3.56 ERA), contending for the final Cubs postseason rotation spot, faces rookie RHP Alex Reyes (3-1, 1.08) on Saturday. Jose Martinez Cardinals Jersey .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. Mark McGwire Cardinals Jersey . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-paul-dejong-jersey/ . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Stan Musial Cardinals Jersey . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Chris Carpenter Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday.The NHL announced on Wednesday that Stephen Walkom is rejoining the league as NHL Senior Vice President and Director of Officiating, replacing the retiring Terry Gregson. Walkom held the same position between 2005 and 2009. "We are fortunate to have someone with Stephens on- and off-ice experience ready to step in to this position," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell in a statement. "From 2005 to 2009, Stephen provided tremendous direction and guidance to our team of officials as the League implemented several rule changes that brought more flow and speed to our game. That management experience, combined with the fact that he has been back on the ice as a referee for the last four years, will be of tremendous benefit to the League and the game." Walkom, 49, refereed a total of 965 regular season and 139 Stanley Cup playoff games. He also worked the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and 2004 World Cup of Hockey as well as the 2002, 2004, 2010 and 2011 Stanley Cup Finals. Walkom served on the Executive Board of the NHL Officials Association from 1993 to 2005, including a term as President before joining the Leagues front office in 2005.dddddddddddd Gregson, who joined the leagues front office in 2005 after a 25-year career as a referee, will serve as a consultant to the NHL on officiating matters, including the leagues participation in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. Gregson worked 1,427 regular-season games and 158 playoff games, including appearances in eight Stanley Cup Final series. He also served as an executive with the NHL Officials Association from 1982 to 2000. "Terry had the unique ability to expertly manage the 78-man NHL officiating team," said Campbell in a statement. "His tireless efforts behind the scenes to ensure that NHL officiating was the best it could be on a nightly basis were seldom recognized publicly, but we greatly appreciate his dedication to the game both on and off the ice for the past 33 years. We are also pleased that he has agreed to continue to work with the Officiating Department on various projects." ' ' '