Jake Arrieta pitched the first no-hitter of the 2016 Major League Baseball season on Thursday night.
The Chicago Cubs pitcher struck out six and walked four in the complete game. He improves to 4-0. Brandon Finnegan got the loss.
The Cincinnati Reds pitchers performed as horribly as their hitters at home. The Cubs combined for 18 hits in the 16-0 blowout shutout.
Ben Zobrist homered in the second, Kris Bryant went yard in the fourth and seventh, David Ross, who caught the no-hitter, hit a solo shot in the sixth, and Anthony Rizzo belted a three-run dinger in he sixth. To add self-inflicted insult to embarrassment, the Reds gave the Cubs an extra out in the ninth after Rizzo advanced to first on a third-strike passed ball that allowed runners on first and second to advance. A Matt Szczur single knocked in a run, with a Zobrist double making the score 16-0.
The no-no by last season’s NL Cy Young Award-winner comes as the first hitless game since Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer no-hit the NL pennant-winning New York Mets on the last weekend of the 2015 regular season, giving him his second such feat in 2015.
Arrieta no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers in August of last season. His second career no-hitter marks the 295th in MLB history. Since last season’s All-Star break, the veteran righty has allowed just 12 runs in 129 1/3 innings pitched.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.