By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
While most Philadelphia Phillies fans thought RHP Aaron Nola has thrived in the month of May — going 3-1 with a 1.91 ERA in 33 innings with another start yet scheduled for May 31 — top offseason acquisition RHP Jake Arrieta managed to perform even better.
In five starts and 30 innings, Arrieta allowed just five runs — three earned — with a 0.90 ERA. In his final May outing on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arrieta tossed seven shutout innings while allowing six hits and two walks.
Not only was Arrieta's 0.90 May ERA the third-best among qualified pitchers, trailing only Jacob deGrom (0.69) and Justin Verlander (0.86), but it was the first sub-1.00 ERA within a calendar month in his career since Sept. 2015 (0.45 ERA). The last Phillie to accomplish such feat was Cliff Lee in August 2011, when he allowed just two runs in 39 2/3 frames, also a 0.45 ERA.
Arrieta also finished May with just one home run allowed, matching his April yielded home run total. This was the fifth time in his career the right-hander allowed one home run or none in consecutive months, and his first since May-June 2016.
When the Phillies signed Arrieta to a three year, $75 million contract in March, they expected him to be at least top-two talent rotation arm to complement Nola. So far through 10 starts, Arrieta has done just that and more. With the Phillies poised for their first postseason run since 2011, they will rely on Arrieta even more come October.
