Arrêté is French for stop, and that’s what Jake Arrieta did to the Reds on Thursday, holding Cincinnati hitless as the Cubs pounded their opponent by a 16-0 count. It’s the first no-hitter of the new season, the second of Arietta’s career, and his second in eleven regular season starts. The win pushes Arrieta’s record to a perfect 4-0 in four starts this season, with a microscopic 0.87 ERA.
More on Arrieta’s gem after the break.
This no-hitter was in in the category of a workmanlike effort (if that makes any sense) with a modest total of six strikeouts and a slightly immodest four walks. Arrieta recorded strikes on less than 60% of his pitches, only the thirteenth such no-hitter since pitch and strike counts were consistently recorded starting in 1988. Arrieta’s 89 game score is the lowest in a no-hit game since Francisco Liriano blanked the White Sox almost five years ago.
This no-hitter was the eleventh in Chicago history since the 60’6″ pitching distance was established starting in 1893. Arrieta’s no-hitters in consecutive seasons is a first for a Cub pitcher, and the first time for the team since 1972, when Milt Pappas (who just died, aged 75) and Burt Hooton followed Ken Holtzman‘s second no-no in 1971. Arrieta now joins Holtzman as the only Cubs with a pair of no-hit games.
The Cubs put up a 3-spot in the ninth inning to make this game the most lopsided no-hitter in the post-1893 era, eclipsing the 13-0 rout when the Yankees’ Monte Pearson blanked Cleveland on Aug 27, 1938. Arrieta joined his teammates in the carnage, contributing a couple of hits to his own cause. This is just the seventh time since 1913 that the Reds have been no-hit and the first since suffering that indignity twice in month of June 1971. Curiously, all but one of those no-hit games were played in Cincinnati.
Arrieta now runs his streak of consecutive quality starts (6+ IP, 3 or fewer ER) to 24, tied with Walter Johnson in 1914-15 for the third longest searchable streak. Just ahead are Eddie Cicotte with 25 games in 1916-17 and Bob Gibson with 26 in 1967-68.
In the category of “Trades You Wish You Didn’t Make” what other pitchers of promise but not accomplishment were traded for more established arms and subsequently pitched a no-hitter? Using that filter, Nolan Ryan, no, Randy Johnson yes.
And, welcome back Birtelcom
A few more.
– Henderson Alvarez (traded for Mark Buehrle)
– Philip Humber (traded for Johan Santana)
– A.J. Burnett (traded for Al Leiter)
– Terry Mulholland (traded for Steve Bedrosian)
– Dave Stewart (traded for Rick Honeycutt; Honeycutt was more established, but hardly a marquis talent at the time)
– Jerry Reuss (traded for Rick Rhoden, though it’s debatable who was the more established pitcher at the time of the trade)
– Clyde Shoun (traded for Dizzy Dean)
– Monte Pearson (traded for Johnny Allen, again debatable who was more established, but probably Allen)
As a Met fan, here’s hoping Syndergaard for Dickey joins that list soon.
I have little doubt that it will. I never liked that trade.
According to this: http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2016/4/21/11485052/cubs-reds-recap-jake-arrieta-kris-bryant-mlb-scores
There was a no-hitter by Pud Galvin in 1884 with an 18-0 score.
Thanks brp. I’ve amended the text.
Someone from the Dodgers organization sent out a pretty funny tweet after the game:
“Hey @Reds, Arrieta no-hitter support group meets on Mondays.”
To which the Reds responded:
“@Dodgers We’ll bring the Budweiser.”
Arrieta has thrown 2 no-hitters in a span of 11 starts. Here is how others have fared.
Johnny Vander Meer: A span of 2 starts in 1938
Allie Reynolds: 13 starts in 1951
Virgil Trucks: 19 starts in 1952
Warren Spahn: 7 starts in 1960-1961
Nolan Ryan: 15 starts in 1967
Max Scherzer: 20 starts in 2015
ESPN reported the 1905 Sox won a no-hitter 15-0 https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/723519277903433730
It was the second game of a doubleheader on Wednesday, September 6, 1905. (Boston AL was still known as the Americans that season.)
And better french would be Jacques arrête les Reds.
Chuck Rainey of the Cubs came within one out of a no-hitter against the Reds in Johnny Bench’s last game at Wrigley Field http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1983/B08240CHN1983.htm — I was at that game and had just stepped into the men’s room when the Reds got their base hit.
Larry Corcoran threw 3 no-no’s in the 1880’s, and John Clarkson threw on in 1885. MLB considers these “official” no-hitters, so Jake’s 2nd was the Cubs 15th, not 11th.
To preserve the resemblance between Arrieta and arrête, “stops,” the best translation probably would be “Jacques arrête les Reds sans coup sûr.” (A coup sûr is a “safe hit,” i.e., a base hit.)
B-Ref’s French baseball glossary translates “no-hitter” as un match sans point ni coup sûr—”a game without runs or hits.” The definition is a bit too broad, since there have been 17 no-hitters since 1901 in which the team that got no hits scored at least one run, most recently Ervin Santana of the Angels in a 3-1 victory over the Indians on July 27, 2011. If you’re going to translate the team names into French, Arrieta’s team is the Oursons (bear cubs).
I had a ticket to Dennis Martínez’s July 28, 1991 partie parfaite for the Expos at Dodger Stadium, but I couldn’t go because I was traveling. Closest I’ve ever come to witnessing a no-hitter.
I was at the game two nights earlier when the Expos’ Mark Gardner no-hit the Dodgers through 9 innings, but lost the game in the 10th.
RDS (the french-language ESPN/TSN), Radio-Canada, and TVA usually talk of matchs sans point ni coup sûr.
So let’s see here. Your handle, translated, acronym: Plus Loin Une Fois (love it!)—PLUF—Plouffe. My handle, translated: Chef de Thon.
Fun trivia fact: David Ross, who caught Arrieta’s no-hitter, has the highest XBH percentage (43.6%) of any player with more than 2000 plate appearances who caught more than 50% of the games in which he appeared.
Never would have guessed that.
Ross ranks 12th in ISO (.193) for catchers with 2000 PA. His ISO as 84.3% of his BA ranks 3rd behind Todd Hundley (89.3%) and Mickey Tettleton (86.7%).