Cubs throw combined no-hitter to beat Pirates 12-0

A wave of grumbling around the Wrigley Field stands had grown into a chorus of boos as right-handed reliever Nate Pearson finished his eighth-inning warmup pitches. Cubs fans had realized that left-hander Shota Imanaga wasn’t getting a chance to complete his no-hit bid.

Only then did catcher Miguel Amaya, so focused on calling a dominant game, realize they had a no-hitter. Imanaga himself didn’t know it until he left the game.

“(Manager Craig Counsell) came to talk to me and usually he seems happy to say, ‘Good job,’” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “But he seemed a little concerned. And so I tried to figure out what was going on and then I learned.”

By the final pitch, everyone was alert. And the fans’ cheers were louder than their booing a few innings earlier. In the 12-0 victory over the Pirates, Imanaga, Pearson and Porter Hodge completed only the second combined no-hitter in franchise history (also on June 24, 2021, against the Dodgers).

It was the Cubs’ 18th no-hitter and their first at Wrigley since Milt Pappas’ 1972 no-no. Only one Cubs no-hitter has had a larger margin (April 21, 2016, at the Reds, 16 runs).

“It feels so special to be a part of Cubs history,” Amaya said. “… It feels so special to do it with these guys, and especially for these fans.”

Craig Kimbrel (center) celebrates with teammates after throwing a combined no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers after the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium on June 24, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The Chicago Cubs won 4-0.

Zach Davies, Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel allowed eight hits but no hits in the Cubs’ 4-0 win on Thursday.

By means of Russel Dorsey

Mills’ no-no is the first Cubs no-hitter since Jake Arrieta no-hit the Cincinnati Reds on April 16, 2016

By means of Russel Dorsey

Jake Arrieta threw his second no-hitter on Thursday as the Cubs defeated the Reds 16-0 in Cincinnati.

Screenshot_2015_08_30_at_21.21.33_PM.png

Cubs starter Zach Davies, along with relievers Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel, failed to record a single against the Dodgers last week.

We have seen a change in the way combined no-hitters were made, a change that is consistent with an era of fewer hits, more relievers, and more focus on pitch counts.

The Cubs’ offense jumped out to an early lead, scoring in every inning except the fourth and seventh. Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong both fell a triple short of the cycle — with Crow-Armstrong coming within a hair’s breadth of that triple.

Imanaga flew through his outing, getting the minimum in all but two of his seven innings. He walked twice in the second and was untouched in the sixth when third baseman Isaac Paredes committed two errors.

Pearson and Hodge watched Imanaga perform on TV in the bullpen. At one point, Hodge turned and gave Pearson a knowing smile, assuming they were thinking the same thing. But he didn’t want to jinx the no-hitter by acknowledging it out loud. Pearson, it turned out, was as oblivious to it as Imanaga. His first clue came when he was greeted with boos.

By the time Imanaga completed the seventh inning and struck out his seventh batter, which was the final out, he had thrown 95 pitches.

“It’s always tough to do that in that situation,” Counsell said of signing Imanaga with his seasonal workload the main focus. “But you look after Shota. It’s 100 percent about looking after Shota and making sure we do the right thing for him.”

Counsell and his coaching staff began organizing a rotation of most of the regular players.

“They said, ‘Hey, you’re ready,'” shortstop Dansby Swanson said. “I said, ‘No, I’m not.’ Like, ‘Think about it.’ Can’t say. ‘Think about it.'”

“I think at first they thought it was more about trying to get a triple. Man, I don’t know if I can run that far. It was more for the defense.”

Swanson had won a few close games before, but never a no-hitter.

Pearson retired all three batters he faced in the eighth inning. He said he told himself, “Just pump it up, attack these guys, make your pitches, go one pitch at a time, don’t get too far ahead of yourself.”

In the ninth inning, Hodge grounded out Swanson three times in a row to end the game.

“Mixed emotions waiting for that ball to finally get to the first baseman for the last out,” Hodge said. “It’s just so nerve-wracking.”

First baseman Michael Busch squeezed his glove and Hodge opened his arms to hug Amaya, who had tears in her eyes.