Jake Arrieta Dominates Reds For Second Career No-Hitter As Cubs Win 16-0

Three years ago on April 23, 2013, Jake Arrieta started his second to last game with the Baltimore Orioles, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4.  Arrieta was handed the loss after allowing five runs in five innings.  He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in July 2013, and what a welcome change of scenery that was.

Arrieta Throws Second Career No-Hitter In Cubs’ 16-0 Win Over Reds

Fast forward to April 21, 2016 and Arrieta is cementing his status as arguably the top pitcher in Major League Baseball, staring down his second career no-hitter with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.  Arrieta threw a 93 mph two-seam fastball that was popped up by Reds’ third baseman Eugenio Suárez and caught by Cubs’ right fielder Jason Heyward.  There it was, the second no-no over the span of 11 regular season starts for Cubs’ ace after throwing 119 pitches.

Arrieta (4-0, 0.87 ERA) had three walks over the first six innings and didn’t feel like he had his best stuff going into the game.  “It felt sloppy from the get-go. The pregame pen was as sloppy as the pregame pen [in] L.A. before that no-hitter. … Pitching to contact was the goal today, and I did that,”  He told reporters after the game.

The 30- year old right-hander definitely succeeded in pitching to contact, as Chicago’s defense recorded 20 of the 27 outs.  Arrieta struck out six and picked off Suárez in the fourth.  After the sixth, Arrieta only faced 10 batters with only Scott Schebler reaching base in the ninth as the fourth walk issued by Arrieta, who retired the next three batters on just 10 pitches.

“In the sixth, I knew it was going to be a possibility for me,” Arrieta said of the gem, he threw his first career no-hitter on August 30, 2015 against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

“It feels different the second time,” said Arrieta,  “I was a little more relaxed as the game progressed.”

The gem was caught by 39-year old David Ross, who is in his final season.  He went 2-4 with one of the team’s five home runs, he also scored three times.  “I’m on cloud nine,” Ross said. “As a catcher and a guy who prides himself on calling a game, it’s one of those things I really wanted to do. Or be a part of … I didn’t do a whole lot. That animal was in control the whole time.”

Adding to the onslaught was reigning National League Rookie of the Year, Kris Bryant, who went 4-6 with two home runs (one grand slam) and drove in six runs.

Arrieta made sure to get in on the offensive end too, going 2-4 with a run scored.

The Cubs and Reds will resume their four game series tonight at 7:10 PM EST.  Jon Lester (1-1, 2.21 ERA) will take the mound for the visiting Cubs against Jon Moscot (0-0, 4.76 ERA).

With his latest masterpiece, Arrieta has certainly earned a seat at the table when discussing the game’s best pitcher, a question that has been Dodgers’ southpaw Clayton Kershaw (2-0, 1.50 ERA) for the past several seasons.  Kershaw now faces competition not only from Arrieta but also from New York Mets’ flamethrower Noah Syndergaard (2-0, 0.90 ERA) and Stephen Strasburg (3-0, 1.25 ERA) of the Washington Nationals.

All four of those pitchers are the National League but Syndergaard is relatively inexperienced at just 23 years old and Strasburg has dealt with more than his fare share of injury problems throughout his career.  That could mean the NL Cy Young Award race could once again come down to Arrieta and Kershaw.

Arrieta won it last year after posting a 22-6 record with 236 strikeouts and an 1.77 ERA.  Not to be outdone, Kershaw went 16-7 with a 2.14 ERA and 301 strikeouts.

The season is young so there will be plenty of opportunities for baseball fans to catch the aces in action during 2016 and formulate their opinion on who the game’s top pitcher is.