San Diego Padres Dylan Cease Throws First Career No-No

On a humid, 83-degree day in the nation's capital, Dylan Cease was sweating through his San Diego Padres uniform, the brown pin-striped jersey now more of a dark gray. The ninth inning had just begun and Cease had yet to allow a hit. He had thrown 103 pitches -- a low enough total, even in today's game, to get a shot at completing the no-hitter.

Ildemaro Vargas battled for eight pitches, fouling off five pitches, before finally grounding out to second base. Jacob Young swung at a first-pitch slider and grounded out routinely to shortstop. CJ Abrams took a slider low and in and then swung at another one, lifting a soft liner to right field.

With that final out, Cease had his first career no-hitter -- just the second in franchise history after Joe Musgrove broke through in 2021 -- and completed one of the great three-game stretches in major league history.

Fact Check: Dylan Cease, 2023 Padres (July 13-25): Two hits allowed over 22 innings with 30 strikeouts and no runs. Average game score: 85.0

On July 13, he allowed one hit with 11 strikeouts in six scoreless innings to beat the Atlanta Braves. Then, in his next start July 20, he allowed one hit with 10 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings to beat the Cleveland Guardians.

Now, he has gone the distance, striking out nine batters en route to the first no-no of his career.

He issued a leadoff walk in the seventh but managed to get through the inning in 16 pitches. He told manager Mike Shildt that he still felt great but figured he had to get through the eighth inning in 105 pitches. With an easy nine-pitch inning, he had room to go out for the ninth.