*Photo from Awful Announcing*
Ha-Seong Kim provided all the offense, Dylan Cease dazzled, and the San Diego Padres defeated the Washington Nationals with a 3-0 victory Thursday afternoon in Washington, DC.
The first no hitter in Padres history had to wait 52 long years until Joe Musgrove made history in April of 2021 in Texas. Musgrove now has company, as Cease threw the second no hitter in Padres history 3 years and 3 months later.
His start didn't begin for a while, as he had to wait through a 76 minute rain delay to take the mound. When he did, he was brilliant, tossing the first no hitter of his career. Luis Arraez ended a previous bid with a 9th inning single in 2022. Now teammates, Arraez had a front row seat as Cease got the job done this time.
Cease said of his no hitter "I think it'll set in even more as time goes. I've been close. And to finally get it done, it's one of those things that just feels so remarkable and hard to believe. To be able to do it. to go out and experience it, I really don't even know how to feel. I'm just happy."
All the offense Cease needed on the mound came in the first inning, when the bases were filled with Padres against Nationals starter Patrick Corbin. Kim cleared them with a shot to the left center field gap, scoring Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts, and Donovan Solano as Kim wound up at second base with a 3-0 lead.
Cease took over after that. Throwing a career high 114 pitches, Cease walked 3 hitters and struck out 9 as he threw a complete game for the 3rd time in his career. Cease has had scoreless starts his last 3 times, totaling 22 straight scoreless innings.
Asked about the day as a whole, Cease said "The rain-delay start and how unassuming it felt at first. Then, you just keep going out there and putting up zeros. All of a sudden, you look up, and you’re one out away. Then, all of a sudden, you’re no outs away. And you’re celebrating."
It was Corbin who was the starter for the Nationals, rebounding after the 3 run first inning. He threw 7 innings total, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks while picking up 7 strikeouts as he was on the other side of a pitchers duel. Derek Law kept the Padres off the scoreboard in the 8th inning while Jose Ferrer did the same in the 9th.
Washington manager Dave Martinez said after the game "Today, Cease had both breaking balls, great shape, and we knew that coming in, but it was really good so he kept our hitters off-balance all game. I watched him all game and he never really gave us much to hit."
Both teams' weekend series are on the road. The Padres head north to face the Baltimore Orioles, with the series opening start going to Adam Mazur. MacKenzie Gore gets the start for the Nationals against the St. Louis Cardinals.
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