By PATRICK STEVENS
WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 Chicago 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. “Man off the bat right there, it looked kind of like a bloop hit. I saw it stay up. Just screaming and yelling. That was awesome.”
Cease’s pitch count was 94 after the seventh inning. He lobbied manager Mike Shildt to keep him in the game.
“He said nice job. And I looked up and it was like 94 pitches. I just said ‘I feel great.’ And if we get through the next one in like 105. I’ve have thrown 113 this year,” Cease recalled. “Thankfully, they let me talk him into it. And then, he we are.”
The closest Washington came to a hit was when Juan Yepez lofted a fly to shallow center in the fifth inning. The ball popped out of second baseman Xander Bogaerts’ glove, but center fielder Jackson Merrill was there to snare the ball before it hit the ground.
Bogaerts also bobbled a ball after making a diving stop of Keibert Ruiz’s grounder with one out in the eighth but recovered in time to throw out the slow-footed catcher at first.
Cease threw 60 sliders against the Nationals along with 39 fastballs averaging 98.3 mph — 1.4 mph above his season average — and 10 knuckle-curves.
His previous complete games also were shutouts: a seven-inning three-hitter against Detroit on April 29, 2021, and the win over the Twins.
Cease allowed only three baserunners. Lane Thomas walked with one out in the first inning and was caught stealing, then reached on another walk in the fourth but was erased on Jesse Winker’s double-play grounder. Abrams walked leading off the seventh and was stranded at second base.
Washington was no-hit for the second straight season. Philadelphia’s Michael Lorenzen achieved the feat last Aug. 9.
San Diego has won five in a row and earned its third series sweep of the season and first on the road. The Padres swept Oakland and Washington at home last month.
Washington was swept for the sixth time this season and finished 0-6 against San Diego. It was the first time the Padres went undefeated against the Nationals/Montreal Expos franchise since both teams joined the National League in 1969.
San Diego loaded the bases in the first with a single and two walks against Patrick Corbin (2-10) before the delay while Ha-Seong Kim was batting, When the game resumed, Kim worked a full count before poking a single to left-center that scored all three runners.
UP NEXT
Padres: Open a series Friday at Baltimore.
Nationals: LHP MacKenzie Gore (6-8, 4.20 ERA), whose two-inning outing Saturday against Cincinnati was his shortest start of the season, starts in a three-game series at St. Louis.
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