The man who once thwarted a Cease no-no now shares this one with him
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WASHINGTON -- Dylan Cease had lived this moment before. He had carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning, when, with two outs, he was greeted by a pesky, contact-oriented, left-handed-hitting leadoff man.
In September 2022, only Luis Arraez stood between Cease and baseball history. Arraez, then with the Twins, singled to right field. Cease, then with the White Sox, put his hands on his knees and hung his head.
The ending would be different on Thursday. Arraez watched from the Padres’ dugout as Cease completed the second no-hitter in franchise history in a 3-0 victory at Nationals Park.
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When CJ Abrams’ line drive settled in the glove of Bryce Johnson for the final out, Arraez made a beeline for the Padres right fielder. He wanted to present Cease with the ball. Sure enough, as the mob scene around Cease broke up, there was Arraez, arm outstretched, baseball in hand.
“That was awesome,” said Cease, who was dealt from the White Sox to the Padres in March. “I didn’t even have that in my mind. He presented it to me, and I was like: ‘Yeah, I’m safeguarding this.’ It’s definitely going to go in the trophy case.”
Both Cease and Arraez landed in San Diego via trade over the past five months. They’ve each played a major role in the Padres’ success this season.
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A few days ago, they found themselves on an elevator together and the topic of Arraez’s no-hitter-spoiling single came up.
“I told him, ‘You’ve got good stuff, you can make it,’” Arraez said. “Look, today he did it. I’m really excited for him.”
Arraez vividly recalled the last time Cease came so close. He was chasing a batting title at the time and got a 1-1 slider over the plate -- somewhat similar to the pitch Cease threw to Abrams on Thursday. As Arraez recalled it: “Everyone in Chicago hated me.”
“Now I’m the opposite way, now I’m playing with him,” Arraez said. “Now he’s my teammate. I enjoyed watching him pitching today.”
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As Arraez alluded to, Cease was clearly on the verge. He had allowed only one hit in each of his previous two starts and became the first pitcher since at least 1901 to record 30 strikeouts and two hits or fewer over a three-start span.
“I've been close,” Cease said. “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.”