Cubs' Arrieta boggles the mind with another no-hitter

There's no way, right?

All the talk in spring training and throughout April was that Jake Arrieta could well have another great year for the Chicago Cubs, but there was no way he could put up the crazy kind of numbers he put up last year, especially in the second half.

You never want to say there's no way Arrieta could pitch a no-hitter so soon after last year's gem on Aug. 30 at Dodger Stadium, but his electric stuff makes that a possibility every time he takes the mound.

But no way, right?

Way.

So it was Thursday night at the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

Maybe Arrieta had only his A-stuff instead of his A-plus-stuff, but he managed to no-hit the Cincinnati Reds in a game the Cubs won 16-0.

The 30-year-old Arrieta threw 119 pitches, walking four and striking out six.

“It felt sloppy from the get-go,” Arrieta told TV broadcasters Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies on Comcast SportsNet. “The pregame (bull)pen was as sloppy as it was in L.A. Before that no-hitter. I don't put a lot into it. I was a little off with my command but I was able to keep them off-balance and later in the game pound the strike zone with some good movement and keep the ball down.”

Here is how mind-boggling the numbers are for Arrieta:

• He went 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA last year, earning him the Cy Young Award. From the beginning of last year until now, Arrieta is 26-6 with an ERA of 1.66.

• Arrieta's last loss came last July 25, when the Phillies' Cole Hamels pitched a no-hitter against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

• Going back to last year, Arrieta has a streak of 24 quality starts, a franchise record, and he has an ERA of 0.86 and a WHIP (walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched) of 0.70 in that streak.

• In his last 12 starts of last season, beginning Aug. 4, Arrieta was 11-0 with an ERA of 0.41. That is the lowest ERA for any pitcher from Aug. 1 until the end of the season since ERA became an official stat. Combine that with what Arrieta has done this year, and he is 15-0 with an ERA of 0.53.

• Arrieta became the third player in Cubs history to throw multiple no-hitters; Larry Corcoran had 3, and Ken Holtzman had 2, his second coming at Cincinnati. Arrieta is the first Cub to throw a no-hitter in back-to-back seasons.

The next start for Arrieta will come next Wednesday night at Wrigley Field against the Milwaukee Brewers.

There's no way, right?