There are a few key features every “ace” in Major League Baseball has; stopping a losing streak, long outings, and dominating stuff, just to name a few.
Jake Arrieta continues to show off each and every one of those qualities.
In the middle of a four-game losing streak, Arrieta took the mound for the Cubs Sunday against the Dodgers. Before the game even started, he had already reached an impressive status in Cubs history.
.@JArrieta34 is the first @Cubs pitcher with 13 straight quality starts since @gregmaddux in 1992. #LightsOut pic.twitter.com/3RcrGjnbMl
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 30, 2015
Arrieta’s performance on Sunday was much more than just a quality start, which requires a pitcher to go at least six innings allowing three earned runs or less.
Through seven innings, Arrieta held the Dodgers hitless. In fact, only two Dodgers players even reached base, Kiké Hernandez reached on a Starlin Castro error in the third and Jimmy Rollins walked in the sixth.
This is far from the first time that Arrieta has taken a no-hitter deep into an appearance. In fact, over the last year and a half, a team knocking Arrieta out early has been extremely rare.
We see you, Jake Arrieta. pic.twitter.com/pmhQC32wF7
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 31, 2015
Despite Arrieta’s multiple flirtations with it, a Cubs pitcher hasn’t thrown a no-hitter since Carlos Zambrano’s against the Astros in 2008.