Jake Arietta and His NoNo

Arietta gets his no-hitter!

I remember when Nolan Ryan no-hit the Dodgers like it was yesterday for his fifth no-hitter (breaking the record set by Sandy Koufax of the aforementioned Dodgers) in late September 1981 while he was with the Houston Astros. The Ryan Express would record two more no-hitters for a record seven his hall of fame career, three more than anyone else. I was despondent for days after that particular nono, though the Dodgers would have the last laugh (not against him per se) winning the World Series that year in one epic series after another en route to the championship.

I remember most of the Dodgers’ no-hitters, all like they happened yesterday… Jerry Reuss in 1980, Fernando in 1990, Ramon Martinez in 1995, Hideo Nomo in 1996, and Kershaw last year. I didn’t see Kevin Gross in 1992 or Josh Beckett last year. The Dodgers have had their fair share of no-hitters, and I was happy to see many of them.

Yesterday on his 116th pitch, Jake Arietta of the Chicago Cubs struck out the side in the ninth inning to pitch the first no-hitter of his career, again against the Dodgers. The first game of the Cubs/Giants series which is the one I attended, Arietta pitched a no hitter through four innings. This particular game was even more important as he ended a four-game losing streak the Cubs were suffering, with every game magnified cos of their part in this year’s playoff race. He’s had fourteen consecutive quality starts, which has not been done by a Cubs pitcher since HOFer Greg Maddux in 1992. Last year, he pitched a no-hitter through eight innings. I haven’t been this excited for a Cubs pitcher since Kerry Wood and Mark Prior over a decade ago (though Dempster and Lilly had a fantastic year in 2008, the year when the Cubs were the best team during the regular season).

Greinke and Kershaw with the Dodgers and MadBum for the Giants are all having Cy Young-type years, but if I had a vote, Arietta would win the Cy this year.

Could this be the Cubs’ year?

I love baseball.