Dylan Cease has always had no-hit stuff. Now he has a no-hitter.
The Padres ace no-hit the Washington Nationals in a 3-0 win in our nation's capital, the second no-hitter in Padres franchise history and the first since Joe Musgrove did it in Texas in 2021. It was the second no-hitter of the 2024 MLB season after Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco did it on April 1.
Cease struck out nine and walked three on the day. His 114th and final pitch was a fly ball to right field by former Padres prospect C.J. Abrams to end it, sparking a wild celebration in the middle of the diamond. On the outside Cease was as stoic as can be. Inside, however? That was a very different story.
"You try not to think about it too much but it's kind of impossible when you're at that point. I just tried to remain focused," says Cease.
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As with most historic starts, there were a few harrowing moments along the way. In the bottom of the fifth it looked like Juan Yepez had the Nats first knock. He hit a flare into shallow centerfield. Second baseman Xander Bogaerts got there and had the ball in his glove but couldn't hold it there. The pearl popped out and Bogaerts, for a moment, thought he'd cost his starter a chance at a no-no.
This is why you back up in a play. Jackson Merrill was right there to grab the airborne orb for an out, baseball's version of an alley-oop dunk.
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When a pitcher gets close to 100 pitches a manager can face a tough decision on whether or not to let him continue hunting history or pull him to fight again another day. San Diego skipper Mike Shildt talked to Cease after the 7th inning when he was at 94 pitches to see if he needed to make a move.
"I just said I feel really good right now," says Cease. "Next inning, if I'm kind of erratic or use too many pitches, pull me then but give me a shot at least. Thankfully we worked it out."
Cease only needed nine pitches to get through the 8th inning so Shildt did not hesitate to give his guy a chance to finish the job. The 114 pitches are only one more than his previous season high.
San Diego got all the offense they needed in a very strange first inning. Ten minutes after throwing his first pitch of the day, Patrick Corbin was not a happy camper. The Nationals starter got off to a terrible start against the Padres, giving up a single and two walks to load the bases with two outs. Just as Ha-Seong Kim was about to step into the batters box rain started to fall. The officiating crew called for a delay.
That's not normal. Typically umpires will give an inning a chance to end before sending teams to their clubhouses. Corbin voiced his displeasure, barking at the blues all the way to the dugout steps.
After a 76-minute delay Corbin was back on the hill to try and get out of the jam he'd been stewing over for an hour and a half. Kim did not help his mood very much. San Diego's shortstop lofted a full count blooper just in front of a diving James Wood in left field. With the runners moving on the 3-2 pitch all three of them scored to make it 3-0 Padres.
Cease took it from there, finishing a season sweep of the Nats and giving the Friars a five-game winning streak. Cease has been close to a no-hitter before. In 2022 with the White Sox he lost a no-no with two outs in the 9th inning. That experience was also on his mind as he came down the stretch on Thursday.
"To be able to do it and go out and experience it, I really don't even know how to feel. I'm just happy," says Cease.
Oh, and one other fun side note to this story: the man who broke up that no-hit bid in 2022 was Luis Arraez, who was then with the Twins. Who handed Cease the game ball after he completed his no-no in Washington?
Luis Arraez, now a teammate who was more than happy to see history completed this time around.
