WASHINGTON (AP) — Dylan Cease pitched the second no-hitter in San Diego Padres history, a 3-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday that completed a three-game sweep.
After falling one out short of a no-hitter two years ago when he gave up a single to current teammate Luis Arráez, Cease accomplished the feat when he retired CJ Abrams on a game-ending flyout to right.
Cease (10-8) struck out nine and walked three in his third complete game in 145 starts. He threw a career-high 114 pitches.
Joe Musgrove pitched the Padres’ first no-hitter against Texas on April 9, 2021.
Padres sign top Draft picks Mayfield, Bateman, plus Fountain
WASHINGTON — The Padres’ aggressive Draft plan appears to be paying off.
San Diego has agreed to deals with a number of its top picks, per MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis, including first-rounder Kash Mayfield, a left-hander out of Elk City High School in Oklahoma. Mayfield will receive a $3.44 million signing bonus, precisely the projected value of his pick.
Additionally, the Padres signed second-rounder Boston Bateman for $2.5 million — above his slot’s value. They also set a record for a fifth-rounder in the bonus-pool era, by inking third baseman Kale Fountain with a $1.7 million bonus.
• Padres 2024 Draft signings tracker
The Padres were able to land all three because of some shrewd maneuvering within their bonus pool money, but more so because of the size of that pool: $9,360,500. It was significantly larger this year, because they received two compensation picks when Josh Hader and Blake Snell turned down qualifying offers and signed elsewhere.
A year ago, the Padres were constrained after losing multiple Draft picks for signing Xander Bogaerts.
“It was a 180,” scouting director Chris Kemp said earlier this month. “We felt very constrained last year with a pool closer to 5 mil. It was almost double this year — allowing us to get a Bateman and a Fountain, along with Mayfield, guys we had in our top 35. We ended up getting three of our top 35, in being able to get Kale and Boston, where last year I don’t think financially that would’ve been possible.”