Cubs' Jake Arrieta Throws Second No-Hitter in Nine Days Against Dodgers

Jake Arrieta threw the 14th no-hitter in Cubs history on Sunday night as the Chicago defeated the Dodgers 2-0 avoiding a three-game sweep.

For the second time in nine days, the Los Angeles Dodgers were no-hit by an opposing pitcher.

Jake Arrieta threw the 14th no-hitter in Cubs history on Sunday night as Chicago defeated the Dodgers 2-0 avoiding a three-game sweep.

"It's hard to put into words right now," Arrieta set in a postgame press conference where he was dressed in pajamas with mustaches on them for the plane ride home. "Hugging my teammates and seeing how excited they were was very special."

Arrieta was devastatingly brilliant, allowing just two runners to reach base, one via an error, and the other a walk over nine hitless innings.

Arrieta was nearly as dominant as the last no-hitter thrown inside the confines of Dodger Stadium when Clayton Kershaw struck out 14 Rockies hitters and walked none on June 19th of last year.

Arrieta struck out 12 and got a lot of help along the way from his defense.

"Defense was really good behind me all night," Arrieta said of his teammates. "Addy [Addison Russell] with a great play, and Castro with a great play on a line drive. I was able to make it hold up and finish it off."

Arrieta became the first Chicago Cubs' pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Carlos Zambrano on September 14, 2008 against the Houston Astros at Miller Park in Milwaukee.

The 29-year-old also became just the third opposing pitcher to throw a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium, and the first to do so since Kent Mercker in 1994.

It's the first no-hitter thrown by the Cubs this season and the sixth in the Major Leagues this year. The Cubs were on the receiving end of a no-no on July 25th, when Cole Hamels, now a member of the Texas Rangers no-hit Chicago at Wrigley Field while pitching for the Phillies.

Arrieta thought he lost his no-hit bid early in the game with no on and one-out in the bottom half of the third. Third baseman Kiké Hernandez hit a hard one-hopper at second baseman Starlin Castro that bounced off his glove.

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Hernandez was safe on the play, but the official scorer, Jerry White, deemed the play an error on Castro, despite the fact that both teams believed it was a hit.

"Initially, I thought it was a hit," Arrieta stated. "It wasn't until an inning or two later that I realized it was ruled an error. Even if it was ruled a hit, I would have kept the same mindset."

Kris Bryant two-run home run in the first inning off Dodgers starter Alex Wood for the only runs on the game. Wood allowed two runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts in six innings of work.

"He was ahead of every single hitter," Wood said of Arrieta's performance. "He can beat you in a lot of different ways. We might see them again, and I think we'll be ready the next time."

Both Castro and center fielder Dexter Fowler finished the game 3-for-5 with a double.

Arrieta meanwhile, continues to state his case as a Cy Young candidate. With the victory, Arrieta leads the majors in wins with 17, and finishes the month of August 6-0 with a 0.43 ERA. Add tonight's no-hitter to the resume and one cannot argue against the right-hander being a leading candidate at the moment.

"This was not surprising at all," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Arrieta's achievement. "His skill, his drive, combined with instruction, makes him one of the best pitchers in the game."

Much like a Rocky movie, Arrieta won over the Dodger Stadium crowd as fans in attendance rose to their feet and roared in excitement and appreciation as Arrieta struck out the side in the ninth.

"I felt it. I think baseball fans are really good at being aware of those types of situations and how rare it is for those things to happen," Arrieta said of the atmosphere in the final inning. "I was very aware and grateful that the fans were aware – on their feet, and enjoying the moment."

After striking out Chase Utley on a breaking ball in the dirt to end the game, Arrieta was mobbed by teammates near the mound as the pile was pushed all the way to the visiting dugout.

"I asked Dan Haren after the game, 'How did I get the last three outs?'" Arrieta joked. "Everything happened so fast, the sequences happened so quickly, I had a hard time replaying how the outs were made."

Adding insult to injury on their otherwise stellar season, the Los Angeles Dodgers were no-hit twice in a nine-game span. Houston Astros right-hander Mike Fiers threw a no-no against the Boys in Blue on Aug. 21 at Minute Maid Park.

"I'm certain there is going to be no negative impact on the Dodgers," Maddon said. "It's just another loss."

It is the first time in the history of the Dodgers franchise that Los Angeles was no-hit twice in one season.


Game Notes:
The Dodgers became the first team since the Tampa Bay Rays in 2010 to be no-hit twice in the same season and the shortest in National League history.

Mike Fiers (Astros), Hishashi Iwakuma (Mariners), Cole Hamels (Phillies), Chris Heston (Giants) and Max Scherzer (Nationals) are the other pitchers to have thrown a no-hitter this season.

The major league record for most no-hitters in a season is seven, set four different times.


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