Spectacular Cease spins 2nd no-hitter in Padres history
AJ Cassavell
WASHINGTON — The Padres waited 53 years to celebrate the first no-hitter in franchise history, but their second came in the blink of an eye by comparison. Dylan Cease completed a no-no in a 3-0 win over the Nationals on Thursday afternoon at Nationals Park, shrugging off three walks to put San Diego back in the record books. San Diego’s first no-no had been thrown by Joe Musgrove on April 9, 2021.
Cease, acquired in a trade with the White Sox just before Opening Day this year, struck out nine and threw 114 pitches as the Wild Card-hopeful Padres won their fifth straight game. The right-hander, forced to wait through an 86-minute rain delay before he took the mound, had allowed only one hit in each of his previous two starts but was even better on Thursday.
Cease was able to finish off his bid for history just two years after his attempt for a no-no was foiled with one out to go. On Sept. 3, 2022, the Twins’ Luis Arraez — now Cease’s teammate in San Diego — knocked a single off the then-White Sox ace, but the Nationals had no such luck Thursday.
Washington’s best chance at a hit against Cease came in the bottom of the fifth inning when Juan Yepez lofted a bloop over second base. Xander Bogaerts backtracked and got his glove on it but couldn’t corral the baseball. When it flipped up in the air, Jackson Merrill was there to make the catch.
