Dylan Cease threw the second no-hitter in San Diego Padres history on Thursday afternoon, beating the Nationals 3-0 in Washington without his gem ever being threatened. The righthander struck out nine and walked three but still faced just one batter over the minimum, CBS Sports reports: Lane Thomas walked twice but was eliminated once in a double play and once trying to steal. Although he threw a career-high 114 pitches, and it was only the third complete game of his career, Cease didn't seem to tire; his 110th pitch was clocked at 100mph. He needed just one spectacular play to preserve his feat.
The Nationals' Juan Yepez led off the fifth inning with a bloop fly ball beyond the infield that the Padres' second baseman took a bad route to, per USA Today. Xander Bogaerts got turned around and lunged for the ball, which popped out of his glove. The team's rookie center fielder, Jackson Merrill, had come in and was able to pluck the ball out of the air for the out. Bogaerts was a hero three innings later, when he dived for grounder, bobbled it, then recovered in time to throw out the batter. After the seventh, Cease lobbied manager Mike Shildt to stay in the game, per the AP. "Thankfully, they let me talk him into it," Cease said. "And then, here we are."
Cease, who joined the Padres in March, came up one out short of a no-hitter in 2021. After coming into existence in 1969, the Padres didn't record a no-hitter until 2021, when Joe Musgrove, a San Diego native, threw one. This season's only other no-hitter was thrown by Houston's Ronel Blanco against Toronto on April 1. MLB.com has video of Cease's victory, including Merrill's save, here.
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