San Diego Padres right-hander Dylan Cease achieved a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals on Thursday. Cease, 28, struck out nine batters and walked three in a dominant 114-pitch performance. He reached 100 mph on his 110th pitch.
Following the seventh inning, Cease negotiated with the Padres’ coaching staff to remain in the game. “He (Mike Shildt) said ‘nice job’ and I looked up and it was 94 pitches and I said ‘I feel great and if we get through the next one in 105 (pitches), I’ve thrown 113 this year,’ so thankfully they let me talk them into it and here we are,” Cease mentioned in a postgame interview.
Cease received significant support from his defense throughout the game. In the fifth inning, Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill collaborated for a notable out, and Bogaerts preserved the no-hitter in the eighth inning with a diving catch that nearly slipped away.
This no-hitter marks the second in Padres’ franchise history. The first was thrown by teammate Joe Musgrove on April 9, 2021.
Cease’s performance comes nearly two years after he lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins while with the Chicago White Sox. Padres teammate Luis Arraez was the batter who ended that bid.
