The Los Angeles Dodgers were no-hit for the second time in ten days on Sunday night. The culprit this time around? NL Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs. In Chicago’s 2-0 victory, Arrieta struck out 12, walked one, and allowed one runner to reach on an error by second baseman Starlin Castro.
Arrieta’s no-hitter is the sixth of the 2015 season, with all six coming over the last three months. This is the first no-hitter of Arrieta’s career, and the first for the Cubs since Carlos Zambrano performed the feat in 2008 against the Astros. Arrieta’s no-hitter is the first by a visiting pitcher at Dodger Stadium since the immortal Kent Mercker no-hit the Dodgers on April 8, 1994.
There will undoubtedly be some controversy regarding the Castro error in the third inning. Many felt that the ball hit by Kiké Hernandez should have been ruled a base hit, but it was instead ruled an error. Had Arrieta lost his no-hitter, one could assume that it would have been changed to a hit. However, that wasn’t the case, and Arrieta will have his name entered into the annals of history.
