Cubs' Arrieta no-hits Dodgers, earns 17th victory

Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arreita had taken several no-hitters deep into games before, but he had never previously completed the feat. He did so Sunday night, taking down the Dodgers in a 2-0 Cubs win.

The only baserunners Arrieta allowed came via an error on second baseman Starlin Castro and a walk to Jimmy Rollins. Otherwise Arrieta was perfect. He had his usual nasty stuff, baffling Dodgers hitters with his slider (which is kind of a hybrid slider/cutter) and was pumping mid-to-high 90s with his fastball. Thus, it’s not surprising that he got to double digits in strikeouts with 12.

Jake Arrieta has thrown a no-hitter. (USATSI)

The result was the first Cubs’ no-hitter since Carlos Zambrano threw one in 2008. Overall, this is the Cubs’ 14th no-hitter in franchise history, dating back to Larry Corcoran’s three no-hitters in the 19th century.

This outing marked Arrieta’s third career shutout. As mentioned earlier, he had flirted with no-nos several times before. Last year, he took a no-hitter into the seventh and then next outing took one into the eighth in June. In September, he took one into the eighth as well. In that September outing, he ended up throwing a one-hit shutout against Cincinnati.

So, yeah, this seemed like a distinct possibility for Arrieta, especially as he cruised through this August. Prior to Sunday, Arrieta was 5-0 with a 0.54 ERA this month. Overall, he’s now 17-6 (leading all of MLB in wins) with a 2.11 ERA this season. He’s a threat to win the NL Cy Young.

The no-no marks the sixth this season. Chris Heston did it first on June 9 and then it was on. Max Scherzer followed on June 20, Cole Hamels threw one against the Cubs on July 25, Hisashi Iwakuma did it on August 12 and Mike Fiers threw a no-hitter against these Dodgers on August 21.

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