Written by Mark Gonzalez at Chicago Tribune.com
Jake Arrieta’s career reached another zenith Thursday night even though he lacked sharpness.
Arrieta’s ability to overcome his lack of command simply speaks volumes about his incredible dominance since the middle of his 2015 National League Cy Young Award-winning season.
Despite four walks, Arrieta’s supremacy took over in the final three innings of a no-hitter that overshadowed the Cubs’ 16-0 humbling of the Reds before a crowd of 16,497 at damp Great American Ball Park.
“I envisioned pitching like this, even when I had a 5.00 (ERA) in Baltimore,” Arrieta said of his low point nearly three seasons ago before he was traded to the Cubs. “I expected to get to this point.
“Regardless of how long it took or what I had to go through to get there, I had visualizations of throwing no-hitters or throwing shutouts. It’s starting to happen for me, and I don’t take any of it for granted.”
After pitching his second career no-hitter, Arrieta, 30, is 15-0 with an 0.53 ERA in 16 starts dating to Aug. 1. That stretch includes a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 30, 2015 — making this his second such gem in 11 regular-season starts.
Arrieta had to overcome some control issues Thursday, which led to 85 pitches through the first six innings.
He walked four, including Scott Schebler to start the ninth. Arrieta, who takes great pride in maintaining his composure, retired the next two batters on flyouts before barely missing on an 0-2 count to Eugenio Suarez.
On his 119th pitch, Suarez flied out to Jason Heyward in right. Arrieta took a few steps off the mound to watch the flight of the ball before turning to hug 39-year-old catcher David Ross, who caught the first no-hitter of his career.
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