What’s Happening in Baseball Today

The First Pitch: July 26, 2024

After four starts earlier this year throwing seven innings and allowing a single hit in each, the Padres’ Dylan Cease breaks through and gets his first career no-hitter, walking three but facing just one batter over the minimum in a 3-0 victory at Washington. It’s the second no-hitter thrown by a San Diego pitcher in the 56-year history of the franchise, and the second individual no-hitter thrown by a major leaguer this season, following Ronel Blanco’s early-season gem for Houston on April 1. 

Cease previously flirted with no-hit glory while pitching for the White Sox in 2022, but his bid was denied with two outs in the ninth on a hit by Minnesota’s Luis Arraez—who’s now Cease’s teammate, watching from the Padres dugout while taking a day off. 

With nine strikeouts on the day, Cease increases his MLB-leading total on the year to 168. He’s on pace for a personal-best 260. 

Over his last three starts, Cease has allowed no runs on just two hits over 22 innings, with 30 K’s. 

It’s the first no-hitter thrown by a visiting pitcher at Nationals Park, which opened in 2008. 

The trading season witnesses its first big move with a late-night deal sending Randy Arozarena from Tampa Bay to Seattle for two prospects and a player to be named later. 

After a slow start, Arozarena has picked up steam—and the Mariners, batting an MLB-worst .216, could desperately use someone of his ilk as they continue to sink in the AL West standings and, more certainly, the AL wild card race. 

The 29-year-old Arozarena brings a bit of pedigree and some spirited dash the Mariners could surely use; he became a borderline household name following a breakout postseason performance in 2020, won AL Rookie of the Year honors a year later, and made his first All-Star team last season. 

Clayton Kershaw, healed, rested and ready, finally makes his 2024 debut for the Dodgers. Over four innings against the visiting Giants, ‘Claw’ allows two runs on four hits with six strikeouts. Following his departure, the Dodgers lose a slim lead in the eighth as the Giants tie it up, but all-glove, no-muscle shortstop Nick Ahmed—released by the Giants last week and picked up by the Dodgers—powers his second homer of the year to put Los Angeles back ahead. Shohei Ohtani, the next batter, will add insurance with a solo homer of his own as the Dodgers ultimately prevail, 6-4. 

The Rangers hand the White Sox their 11th straight loss, 2-1, as Max Scherzer throws six solid innings—striking out nine to pass, for the moment, the Astros’ Justin Verlander for #10 on the all-time list with 3,400. Verlander may move back ahead of Scherzer at some point, but he needs to hurry up and recover from a neck issue that has kept him out of action since June 9; while he’s throwing bullpen sessions, there’s still no definitive timetable for his return.

Congrats, Your Box Score Line Was the Best (Hitters Edition)

4-2-4-3—Brandon Lowe, Tampa Bay
The Rays’ up-and-down power guy (39 homers in 2021, eight the next year, etc.) saw his stock surge with a big day during a 13-0 rout of the Blue Jays at Toronto. With a single, two walks, two doubles and his 12th homer of the year, Lowe became the fifth player in franchise history to reach base six times in one game—and three of the other four needed extra innings to do it. Lowe’s home run, measured at 414 feet down the right-field line, still managed to reach Rogers Centre’s upper deck; he’s hit one of the other 22 balls to reach that upper level since the facility opened in 1989.

Congrats, Your Box Score Line Was the Best (Pitchers Edition)

9-0-0-0-3-9—Dylan Cease, San Diego
Achieving his no-hitter at Washington on a career-high 114 pitches, Cease became the first pitcher ever to strike out eight or more batters, not allowing more than one hit, in three straight starts, according to STATS. It was his third career complete game, all of them shutouts.

It Was Whatever-Something Years Ago Today

1928: Yankee outfielder Bob Meusel hits for his third career cycle, setting a major league mark that will only be equaled (by Babe Herman, Trea Turner and Christian Yelich) but never surpassed. Meusel’s achievement takes place in the first game of a doubleheader at Detroit, won 12-1 by the Yankees with an 11-run, 12th-inning rally. 

1935: In a game between the Senators and Yankees at New York, Jesse Hill lines a shot off the forehead of Washington pitcher Ed Linke—and the ball ricochets to catcher Jack Redmond, who gloves it on the fly and fires to second to double up Yankees runner Ben Chapman. Linke’s cost for the double play is two days in the hospital, but the Senators do beat the Yankees, 9-3. 

1991: Montreal’s Mark Gardner no-hits the Dodgers through nine innings—but loses the game when he has to pitch the 10th inning of a scoreless game and allows singles to the first two batters, sparking a game-winning Dodgers rally in Los Angeles.

You Say It’s Your Birthday

Baltimore slugger Ryan O’Hearn is 31; one of Tampa Bay’s first ‘openers’ Ryne Stanek is 33; 16-year reliever Joaquin Benoit is 47; second baseman of 1,231 hits Jody Reed is 62. Born on this date is three-time All-Star first baseman Norm Siebern (1933), Hall-of-Fame knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm (1922), postwar third baseman and TGG interview subject Eddie Bockman (1920), two-time MLB leader in saves Ellis Kinder (1914), 1930s Negro Leagues star third baseman Alex Radcliff (1905), and pitcher/owner of three World Series rings Sad Sam Jones (1892).

Shameless Link of the Day

Dylan Cease’s no-hitter is only the second in Padres history. Here’s how the first one, by Joe Musgrove, went down on April 9, 2021. 

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