Jake Arrieta pitched the sixth no-hitter in the major leagues this season and second against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 10 days, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 victory on Sunday night.
Arrieta (17-6) struck out a season-high 12 and became the first 17-game winner in the big leagues by throwing baseball’s third no-hitter in less than three weeks.
Astros right-hander Mike Fiers blanked the NL West leaders 3-0 on Aug. 21 in Houston. Never before had Los Angeles been no-hit twice in one season.
Photo: AP
Arrieta got the benefit of a close call from the official scorer in the third inning, when Kike Hernandez reached on a fielding error by second baseman Starlin Castro.
With the crowd roaring, Arrieta struck out all three batters in the ninth: Justin Turner, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. Those were the same three hitters — in a different order — that Fiers retired to finish his gem.
Arrieta tossed the 14th no-hitter in team history and became the first Cubs pitcher to throw one since Carlos Zambrano on Sept. 14, 2008, against Houston in a game that was moved to Miller Park in Milwaukee because of Hurricane Ike.
Photo: AFP
Arrieta finished 6-0 with a 0.43 ERA last month.
Kris Bryant hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Alex Wood (9-9). The Cubs had 13 hits and snapped the Dodgers’ five-game winning streak.
BLUE JAYS 9, TIGERS 2
Photo: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY
In Toronto, Edwin Encarnacion homered for the fourth time in two days and Josh Donaldson also connected as Toronto beat struggling Detroit to complete a three-game sweep.
Russell Martin and Kevin Pillar each hit a two-run shot for Toronto, who lead the majors with 184 home runs. The AL East leaders had their second straight four-homer game and sixth of the season.
Encarnacion hit three home runs and matched a Blue Jays record with nine RBIs in Saturday’s 15-1 rout. His latest drive extended his hitting streak to 25 games, the longest in the majors since a 28-game run by Colorado’s Nolan Arenado last year.
The home run was Encarnacion’s 30th of the season, 11 last month. He has a major league-leading 35 RBIs this month, breaking the club record he shared with Carlos Delgado, who had 34 in June 2003.
Encarnacion has at least one extra-base hit and one RBI in eight consecutive games.
Mark Buehrle (14-6) allowed two runs in six-plus innings as the Blue Jays improved to 21-5 last month, matching the team record for wins in a month. Toronto went 21-9 in May last year.
Alfredo Simon (11-9) allowed all four Blue Jays homers in five innings as the last-place Tigers lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
YANKEES 20, BRAVES 6
In Atlanta, Georgia, Jacoby Ellsbury hit a three-run homer, and Chase Headley and Stephen Drew each added a two-run shot as New York routed Atlanta to finish a three-game sweep.
All three homers, which helped build an 8-2 lead, came with two outs. Headley and Drew, who had four hits, both drove in four runs.
After the Braves cut the lead to 8-5, pinch-hitter Alex Rodriguez drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the Yankees’ nine-run seventh inning.
The US flag at Turner Field flew at half-staff and a moment of silence was observed before the game in memory of Gregory Murrey.
Murrey, a Braves season-ticket holder, died after falling from the upper deck to the lower-level seats on Saturday night. He was 60. The Braves displayed a photograph of Murrey on the video board during the moment of silence.
Despite the sweep, the Yankees gained no ground on first-place Toronto, which leads New York by one-and-a-half games.
The Braves have lost five straight and 12 of 13. They have dropped nine consecutive interleague games since a win over Boston on June 17.
Nathan Eovaldi (14-2) allowed five runs and eight hits in the five-plus innings he pitched.
Julio Teheran (9-7) gave up nine hits and eight runs in 4-1/3 innings.
CARDINALS 7, GIANTS 5
In San Francisco, Matt Carpenter, Brandon Moss and Mark Reynolds homered and Yadier Molina drove in two runs as St Louis beat San Francisco.
Jason Heyward added three hits and drove in a run for the Cardinals, who won for the seventh time in eight games. Greg Garcia also drove in a run.
Jaime Garcia (7-4) allowed season highs in hits (10) and runs (four), but was effective enough to improve to 4-0 over his past six starts. He did not walk a batter and struck out one, a season low.
Marlon Byrd celebrated his 38th birthday with a pair of doubles, a triple and four RBIs. Kelby Tomlinson also drove in a run for the Giants, who ended a 3-3 homestand.
Chris Heston (11-8) gave up five runs in 3-2/3 innings.
METS 5, RED SOX 4
In New York, Michael Cuddyer hit a tiebreaking single in the seventh inning as the NL East-leading Mets stopped their five-game home losing streak, averting a sweep by Boston.
Cuddyer kept up his three-week surge since coming off the disabled list, going three for three with a walk. His go-ahead hit came after Daniel Murphy stole second base with two outs.
Boston slugger David Ortiz lined his 494th home run, moving past Lou Gehrig and Fred McGriff for 27th place on the career list.
Tyler Clippard (2-0) got four outs for the win. Jeurys Familia struck out Mookie Betts with runners at the corners to close out his 35th save in 40 chances.
Before the game, the Mets completed their trade to get reliever Addison Reed from Arizona.
Robbie Ross Jr (0-2) took the loss.
NATIONALS 7, MARLINS 4
In Washington, Jayson Werth homered and drove in three runs and Clint Robinson added a pinch-hit homer as Washington had 13 hits and rallied past Miami.
Michael Taylor added two singles and scored twice for Washington, who got hits from all eight position players.
Doug Fister (5-7) pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Stephen Strasburg for the win.
Strasburg was lifted after throwing 60 pitches in four innings with upper back tightness. He gave up four runs on seven hits.
Miami starter Brad Hand (4-4) allowed five runs on eight hits over 4-2/3 innings.
RANGERS 6, ORIOLES 0
In Arlington, Texas, Derek Holland struck out every Baltimore batter while throwing a three-hitter for his eighth career shutout, leading Texas to a three-game sweep.
Holland (2-1), in his third start since coming off the disabled list, matched a career high with 11 strikeouts. He walked none and hit a batter with a pitch. The left-hander struck out each of the Orioles’ nine starters at least once, getting Adam Jones and Chris Davis twice.
At 68-61, the Rangers are seven games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2013 season. Their 68 wins are already one more than all of last year.
The Orioles have lost 10 of 11, falling five-and-a-half games behind the Rangers in the AL wild-card chase.
Miguel Gonzalez (9-11) allowed four runs in 5-1/3 innings. He is 0-5 in his last seven starts.
In other results, it was:
‧ Rockies 5, Pirates 0
‧ Rays 3, Royals 2
‧ Twins 7, Astros 5
‧ Indians 9, Angels 2
‧ White Sox 6, Mariners 5
‧ Brewers 4, Reds 1
‧ Athletics 7, Diamondbacks 4
‧ Padres 9, Phillies 4
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