Jake Arrieta will start for the Cubs Thursday in Milwaukee

Jake Arrieta limped off the field at PNC Park September 4 with what was eventually diagnosed as a Grade 1 hamstring strain.

17 days later, he’ll be back in action:

That’s good news, although it was stated Tuesday that Arrieta will probably be limited to 75-80 pitches in his first outing back, so hopefully the bullpen will be well rested.

The Cubs have gone 9-4 in Arrieta’s absence, three of those games being a sweep at the hands of the Brewers, so having Jake back to face them is definitely a good thing. Here’s the entire rotation (plus the opposition) for the series that begins Thursday night at Miller Park:

That should set up Jon Lester (who is going tonight in Tampa) to start the first game of the Cardinals series Monday in St. Louis, likely with Jake going Tuesday. One of those two games could very well be a division-clincher.

#LetsGo