Cubs combine to throw a no-hitter versus Dodgers

Well. That just happened.

Zach Davies and the bullpen combined to throw a no-hitter against the Dodgers on Thursday night. It’s the first time in franchise history that the Cubs have thrown a combined no-hitter.

Davies was the leading man, as he gave the Cubs six strong innings of no-hit ball. In his six innings, he struck out four but did issue five walks. His struggle with his command was a large reason the Cubs had to pull him after six.

Entering the seventh inning, Davies was already at 94 pitches. He likely would have at least gone back out there to start the inning, but with an opportunity to add some insurance runs in the seventh, manager David Ross opted to go that route. Chicago ended up scoring a run that inning, giving them a comfortable 4-0 lead.

Ryan Tepera, Andrew Chafin and Craig Kimbrel followed Davies. They had three combined strikeouts, but also had three combined walks. Kimbrel, who has been arguably the best closer in all of baseball this season, stuck out the side in the ninth to secure the no-hitter.

Switching sides, Walker Buehler wasn’t awful, but when you don’t have your team record a hit things won’t look great. He threw six innings, extending his streak to begin the season. However, his stretch of games without taking a loss came to an end. In his six innings, Buehler struck out six and allowed three runs. All three runs came courtesy of the long ball.

If you want a silver lining for a no-hitter, it’s the fact the Dodgers were still able to draw eight walks. Aside from that, oof. LA had numerous opportunities to put runs on the board and make this a game.

In the first inning, they had runners on first and second with two outs. Albert Pujols grounded out, ending any hope of a rally. Cody Bellinger walked to begin the fourth inning, but was stranded there. Those were really the only notable things from the offense tonight. Just a game you want to pretend never happen.

Over LA’s last 40 innings, they’ve scored a grand total of seven runs. The Dodgers are now tied with the Padres for second place in the NL West and are 4.5 games behind the Giants.

Thursday particulars

WP: Zach Davies (5-4) 6 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 5 BB

LP: Walker Buehler (7-1) 6 IP, 3 ER, 6 SO

HR: Javy Baez (17) Willson Contreras (13)

Box score