Cade Cavalli flirted with history on Thursday night, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning as the Washington Nationals defeated the Chicago Cubs 7-0. The win prevented the Cubs from sweeping the series.
Cavalli, who turns 28 on Friday, retired the first 15 batters he faced before issuing a walk to Dansby Swanson to start the sixth. Swanson was subsequently erased on a double-play grounder. Cavalli’s no-hit bid was broken up with two outs in the seventh when Michael Busch singled to left field. The crowd at Nationals Park acknowledged Cavalli’s performance, as he aimed to deliver Washington’s first no-hitter since Max Scherzer achieved the feat twice in 2015.
Cavalli (10-5) ended his outing having struck out 10 batters over eight innings, setting career highs in both innings pitched and total pitches thrown (103). Clayton Beeter closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning.
The Nationals' offense provided early support. After retiring the first three Cubs batters, Kevin Gausman (6-11) allowed a one-out single to Abimelec Ortiz in the fourth inning. Two pitches later, Dylan Crews hit an RBI double to left-center, opening the scoring.
Washington extended its lead in the fifth. Andrew Pinckney drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Following a single by CJ Abrams, Ortiz hit a three-run home run to right-center, increasing the Nationals' advantage to 5-0. Daylen Lile added an RBI single, which ended Gausman’s day on the mound.
Gausman, in his second start since being acquired from Toronto, surrendered six runs and struck out seven batters over 4 2/3 innings.
Ortiz has hit four home runs in 11 games this season. During the Nationals’ six-game homestand, he batted .389 with three home runs and seven RBIs.