Printer-friendly version
By Chris Jennewein, as seen in Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News AssociationPhoto: Dylan Cease hugs Jackson Merrill, who made the unlikely play that prevented a fifth-inning hit that could have spoiled the day. Photo credit: Screen shot, @Padres via X
July 26, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) -- The Padres, going for a sweep Thursday in Washington, got something more out of the deal – a no-hitter.
Dylan Cease went the distance for his first career no-no in a 3-0 win by the Friars, managing somehow to top his two most recent starts in which he gave up only one hit.
The Padres waited a long time for the first no-hitter in team history – Joe Musgrove achieved the feat in 2021 – but didn’t have to wait so long for the second.
Moreover, Cease threw his gem despite a long rain delay – well over an hour – that hit before the Padres even finished batting in the first inning.
Cease shares two other things in common with Musgrove. Both were newcomers to the Padres when they threw their no-hitters – the team traded for Cease in March – and both did it on the road.
The starter struck out nine, but also had more than a bit of good fortune on the way to his no-hitter. Xander Bogaerts couldn’t quite keep his glove on a blooper by Juan Yepez in the fifth. But it had popped out and with just a smidge of hang time, Jackson Merrill was able to swoop in, save the day and record the out.
Cease’s other sleight of hand? Convincing manager Mike Shildt and his coaches to leave him in the game after the seventh – with an assist from Musgrove.
“Thankfully they let me talk him into it and then here we are,” Cease said on the post-game broadcast.
“To his credit, he went back out in straight attack-mode,” Shildt said.
Ha-Seong Kim gave Cease all the support he needed in the first on a play that if it isn’t as unlikely a feat as a no-hitter, is still impressive.The Padres had loaded the bases on a single by Donovan Solano and two walks, to Bogaerts and Jake Cronenworth. But then the rains came, so Kim had a long time to think about his at-bat.
He took the count to 3-2 against Washington starter Patrick Corbin before hitting a bases-clearing single, allowing Cease to take the mound up 3-0.
He peppered his strikeouts throughout, beginning with two in the first, of CJ Abrams and Jesse Winker. Washington right fielder Lane Thomas showed the most patience on the day, walking in both the first and fourth innings, but he was caught stealing and erased on a double-play grounder by Winker.
Bogaerts figured into another big play, in the eighth, when with one out, Keibert Ruiz hit a grounder to his left. He slid to make the play, but bobbled the ball transferring it out of his glove. It squirted in the air and Bogaerts snagged it again with his glove, this time making a clean throw to Cronenworth, just ahead of Ruiz’s arrival at first.
That drew a fist pump from Cease, who calmly returned to the mound in the ninth to induce Ildemaro Vargas and Jacob Young to hit grounders to Bogaerts and Kim. Then Abrams stepped to the plate and on a 1-0 count, he hit a sloping liner to right, but Bryce Johnson had a bead on it, to set off the Padre celebration.
Cease came thisclose to a no-hitter against the Twins in 2022 while with the Chicago White Sox. Who broke it up? Current teammate Luis Arraez, who along with Musgrove and Merrill, offered some of the heartiest congratulations among Cease’s teammates.
“I’ve been close. And to finally get it done, it’s one of those things that just feels so remarkable and hard to believe,” he told MLB.com.
Recent comments