Cincinnati Reds no-hit by Jake Arrieta in 16-0 loss to Cubs

The Chicago Cubs continue their dominance of the Cincinnati Reds in 2016.

If you thought the first series with the Cubs last week was bad, let’s hope you didn’t watch Thursday’s game.

Not only did the Reds get handed a 16-0 drubbing, they were also no-hit by Cubs ace Jake Arrieta — the first time the team has been held hitless in a regular-season game since 1971 (of course, they were the victim of Roy Halladay‘s no-no in the playoffs in 2010, but let’s just forget about that). Arrieta was simply masterful, striking out six and only allowing six balls to get hit out of the infield. His only mistakes were four walks, issued to Jay Bruce, Eugenio Suarez and Scott Schebler (twice).

Offensively, the Cubs were powered by, well, pretty much everyone. They hit five home runs, two from Kris Bryant, and every hitter to step to the plate except for Addison Russell had at least one hit.

The loss drops the Reds back to .500 at 8-8, and leaves them in third in the NL Central.

Here are some other takeaways from the game:

Cubs figure out Finnegan

Last week when he faced the Cubs, Brandon Finnegan made a no-hit bid of his own, holding them without a base knock through 6 2/3 innings. He didn’t fool them this time around. Dexter Fowler jumped on the first pitch of the game for a double and that was merely a sign of things to come. Two batters later, Finnegan coughed up a home run to Bryant. He would allow another long ball to Ben Zobrist in the second inning, and went on to give up five runs, seven hits and two walks in four frames. It certainly wasn’t a great night for the southpaw, but against the juggernaut that is the Cubs’ offense, it’s nothing to get too worked up over.

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Relievers rocked (again)

It was the same ol’ song and dance for the Reds’ bullpen. Tim Melville, the team’s new long reliever with Dan Straily now in the starting rotation, got through the fifth inning unscathed, but everything came apart at the seams in the sixth, as he allowed four runs, four hits, two home runs and two walks. With his season ERA now sitting at 11.00, it’s hard to see him staying with the club much longer.

Drew Hayes came on in the seventh to make his major-league debut and it did not go the way he had hoped. He retired the first hitter he faced, but then allowed a walk, a single and another walk before Bryant blasted a grand slam off the batter’s eye in center field. Hayes would throw a perfect eighth inning, however, striking out two.

The Cubs didn’t ease up on Blake Wood in the ninth, scoring three more runs (none of them earned after catcher Devin Mesoraco allowed Anthony Rizzo to reach first base on a dropped third strike) on four hits.

There’s not much left to say about the bullpen at this point. It’s bad. Really bad.

Votto’s struggles continue

The early drought for Joey Votto goes on. He went 0-for-3 before being removed in the blowout, and has now gone 19 consecutive at-bats without a hit, the longest streak of his career. The first baseman’s slash line drops to .172/.258/.241 on the year. While it’s been a frustrating start for him and Reds fans, he’s one of the best hitters in the game, so there’s nothing to worry about here. It’s just a matter of time before he breaks out of the slump.

(P.S., we’ll have more on Votto’s struggles so far on the site tomorrow, so stay tuned for that.)