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Chicago Cubs’ Jake Arrieta no-hits Los Angeles Dodgers

By Michael Natelli

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He’s come close on numerous occasions, but on Sunday he finally did it.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta issued just one walk in his complete-game shutout of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night, throwing his first career no-hitter in the Cubs’ 2-0 win. Arrieta had a career-high 12 strikeouts, with the lone near-miss being a third-inning grounder that went through Starlin Castro‘s legs at second base and was ultimately deemed an error. Chase Utley also sent a fly ball deep to left field in the bottom of the sixth, but it had enough air under it that Matt Szczur had time to get to the warning track and make the play.

What Arrieta did this time around, as opposed to failed no-hit bids in the past, was finish off hitters that got down to 0-2. 10 different batters got into 0-2 holes in Sunday night’s game, and Arrieta was able to strike out seven of those 10. The Cubs also backed him with two first-inning runs, allowing the Cy Young candidate to pitch with the lead his entire outing.

For the Dodgers, this marks the second time in ten days that the team has been no-hit, marking the fourth shortest span between times getting no-hit in MLB history. The previous time came last week when Astros pitcher Mike Fiers no-hit Los Angeles in his second start after being traded from Milwaukee.

Arrieta’s no-no was the Cubs’ first since Carlos Zambrano in 2008, and the 14th in franchise history. While L.A.’s Zack Greinke appears primed to be this year’s National League Cy Young winner, the performance on Sunday certainly boosts Arrieta’s case. In addition to adding a no-hitter to his resume, Arrieta claimed his 17th win on the year, jumped Madison Bumgarner for third in the NL in strikeouts and also lowered his ERA to 2.11 on the season.

To include the mandatory Johnny Vander Meer reference, Arrieta’s next start will likely come on Saturday at Wrigley Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks as he looks go for back-to-back no-hitters.

Next: Alex Gordon To Reinvigorate Already-Strong Royals

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