Jake Arietta records first no-hitter
Listen to this articleIn a stunning finale to a three-game series that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers extend their winning streak to five, right-hander Jake Arietta (pictured above) took the mound for the Chicago Cubs on Sunday Night and not only shut down the Dodgers, he threw the first no-hitter of his career.
It could have been a perfect game too, if second baseman Starlin Castro had caught a hard-hit ball by Enrique Hernandez in the bottom of the third. That put Hernandez on first and Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood hit a sacrifice to Arietta that pushed Hernandez to second base. But then Jimmy Rollins struck out swinging and that was as close as the Dodgers got to ruining the no-no, let alone scoring.
The Cubs started the game with two runs off starter Alex Wood in the first after Chris Denorfia got on base with a walk and Kris Bryant followed with a 402-foot home run to left. The Cubs wouldn’t score again, but that turned out to be all the scoring they needed to win the game.
In the bottom of the sixth Jimmy Rollins got a walk, but after that the Dodgers never got on base again. The final three outs of the game saw Arietta fan Justin Turner, Rollins strike out looking and Chase Utley go down swinging.
Before the game Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw predicted it would be a tough game, calling Arietta’s stuff “nasty,” and Sunday it was about as nasty as Arietta has ever pitched. He did it with his slider and his fastball.
This is the second time in nine days the Dodgers have been no-hit — Mike Fiers of the Houston Astros did it to L.A. August 21 in Houston. It’s the 14th no-hitter for the Cubs and for Arietta it ends an incredible month that saw him get four wins, no losses and record an ERA of 0.43. His record is now 17-6 on the season.
The final score was 2-0 Cubs and the game ended the Dodgers’ win streak at five and halted the Cubs’ losing streak at four. Dodgers starter Alex Wood took the loss (9-9).
The Cubs will meet the Cincinnati Reds in Chicago Monday Night and the Dodgers will face the San Francisco Giants at home.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon had his team dress in their favorite pajamas after the game so in the post-game press conference both Maddon and Arietta were dressed in their onesies.
Below is a video from the post-game press conference.
(Photos by Claudia Gestro — LAPX staff contributed to this article)
Claudia is of Peruvian and Italian descent, having been born in a small town, in the North of Peru, South America. She was raised by her grandmother from an early age, living in poverty until Claudia’s mother brought her to America. She landed in Miami, FL and started her new life, playing high school basketball and eventually becoming a United States citizen. Claudia completed her education at Florida International University with a BA in Broadcast Journalism and became a model to supplement her income. Since graduating from FIU Claudia has worked with many of the Spanish Language broadcasting companies, including Telemundo, Univision and most recently Spanish Language channels on SiriusXM satellite radio and PasTV Deportes in Venezuela.She encourages you to follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Her content appears here under a shared content agreement with her Spanish television clients.