Cease (10-8) struck out nine and walked three in his third complete game in 145 starts. He threw a career-high 114 pitches.
Dylan Cease pitched the second no-hitter in San Diego Padres history, a 3-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday that completed a three-game sweep.
After falling one out short of a no-hitter two years ago when he gave up a single to current teammate Luis Arráez, Cease retired Ildemaro Vargas and Jacob Young on a groundouts for the first two outs of the ninth, then got CJ Abrams to hit a flyout to right on a 1-0 slider.
Cease (10-8) struck out nine and walked three in the 28-year-old right-hander’s third complete game in 145 big league starts. He threw a career-high 114 pitches in a game that included a 1-hour, 16-minute rain delay in the first inning.
Joe Musgrove pitched the Padres’ first no-hitter against Texas on April 9, 2021. Houston’s Ronel Blanco threw the only other no-hitter this season, against Toronto on April 1.
Cease was within one out of a no-hitter for the White Sox against Minnesota on Sept. 3, 2022, when Arráez lined a single to right-center on a 1-1 slider over the middle of the strike zone.
“Think I had a little flashback right there: Make sure I get the slider a little bit lower,” Cease said.
