Today was a huge day for the San Diego Padres while Dylan Cease pitched a no hitter against the Washington Nationals. Prior to joining the Padres, Cease was close to pitching a no hitter for the Chicago Whit Sox in 2022 but fell short after Luis Arraez who is one of his current teammates hit a single in the ninth inning.

According to ESPN, “”Think I had a little flashback right there: Make sure I get the slider a little bit lower,” Cease said. “Man, off the bat right there, it looked kind of like a bloop hit. I saw it stay up. Just screaming and yelling. That was awesome.””

During the game, there was a hour and a half rain delay but nothing seemed to stop the Padres as Ha-Seong Kim hit a three run double in the first inning giving the Padres a 3-0 lead over the Nationals. In addition, Cease pitched through the ninth inning allowing three walks and nine strikeouts. In the fifth inning, the Nationals were close to getting their first hit to Juan Yepez after the ball fell out of Xander Bogarts glove but teammate Jackson Merrill was behind him catching the ball. After the eighth inning, Cease threw 94 pitches and convinced the manager Mike Shildt to stay in the game eventually leading to the Padres defeating the Nationals 3-0 after a line out by CJ Abrams completing the second no hitter in Padres history.

Throughout the ninth inning, my blood was pumping and couldn’t sit down because of how excited I was for the Padres and Cease until the game was over. After the last out, I texted my dad how excited I was and celebrated the incredible moment with my dog Gwynn who was just as excited as I was about the game.

Personally, I think the Padres have a high chance of making the wild card as long as they continue to play as a team and excited to see what this next half of the season has in store for the Padres. For the rest of the season, I wish the best for the team and will always be there to support them along with the Padres fan base at Petco Park.