Update (9:29 PM EST): Bryant hit a grand slam in the top of the seventh to erase any doubt that Arrieta might not get the W. Arrieta got through the seventh inning quite easily. Sometimes you get plenty of drama in no-hitters, but there was very little of it in this one.
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Jake Arrieta tossed the second no-hitter of his career and the 15th in Chicago Cubs history in a 16-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday. Same as the old Jake.
The Cubs have dominated the Reds so far this season, winning all four meetings by a combined 38-6 margin.
He also homered in Arrieta’s first no-hitter. Only four pitchers ever have thrown three or more no-hitters: Bob Feller (three), Cy Young (three), Sandy Koufax (four) and Nolan Ryan, who holds the Major League Baseball record with seven. A market correction was predicted.
And true to his word, that’s been the case so far this season.
The Red Wings are the first team out of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs this spring, as Alex Killom’s goal with 1:43 left enabled Tampa Bay to slip past visiting Detroit last night, 1-0, and complete a five-game Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series win.
Ross wanted a picture with Arrieta, who just finished answering questions about a no-hitter in an opposing team’s facility for the second time in 10 regular-season starts. The veteran called his first no-hitter in this, his final season. “I’m really just trying to enjoy it as much as I can”. Arrieta hadn’t given up more than four runs since August 28 of 2014. “‘Nice job of hitting, ‘” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said with a smile.
“As he came off the field, I told him…” “That animal was in control the whole time”.
There was a late scare for Cubs” fans who haven’t shaken the “we’re doomed” complex from the “60s.
On Thursday night against the Reds, Jake Arrieta stole the spotlight by no-hitting Cincinnati, continuing what’s been arguably one of baseball’s most dominant pitching stretches of all-time. Finally, Eugenio Suarez popped up to Jason Heyward in shallow right field. It perhaps has become the most familiar Chicago mob scene since the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. David Ross slugged a solo dinger in the sixth and Anthony Rizzo put the game way out of reach with a three-run home run later that inning.
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“For me, that’s why this is so special”, Arrieta said, “with him in his past year, he’s never caught one”. He loves being in Chicago, living in Wrigleyville and being part of a community that has welcomed him and his family.
