Dylan Cease makes Padres history, throws second no-hitter of season

San Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease made franchise history after pitching a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals.

After joining the Padres in March, Cease has become a prime piece of San Diego's rotation. He currently leads the league with 167 strikeouts in 131 innings.

The game started in strange fashion. After loading the bases at the top of the first inning with two outs, play was stopped due to rain. The rain would last for over an hour. Afterward, Ha-Seong Kim made the only major hit of the game: a double that gave the Padres the lead at 3-0.

The only help Cease needed came at the top of the fifth when Juan Yepez hit a fly ball that popped out of second baseman Xander Bogaerts' glove. Fortunately, center fielder Jackson Merrill was behind him to catch the juggled ball .

Manager Mike Shildt wanted to take Cease out of the game after the seventh inning, but the pitcher talked him out of it.

"[Shildt] said 'Nice job', and I looked up and it was like 94 pitches," Cease said . "And I just said I feel great, and if we get through the next one at like 105, then, you know, I've thrown 113 this year, so, thankfully they let me talk him into it and here we are."

Cease ended the game throwing a career-high 114 pitches with nine strikeouts and three walks. He now has a 3.50 regular-season ERA.

This is the second time in Padres history that a pitcher threw a no-hitter. Teammate Joe Musgrove threw the first on April 9, 2021, against the Texas Rangers.

This also marks the second no-hitter of the season . The first was thrown by Ronel Blanco of the Houston Astros against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1, 2024.

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