The San Diego Padres have been nearly unbeatable since the All-Star break. Thursday, Dylan Cease was simply unhittable.

The Padres ace pitched just the second no-hitter in franchise history, dominating the Washington Nationals in a 3-0 victory at Nationals Park. Cease, acquired in March to galvanize the Padres rotation, pitched like the ace San Diego sought: He struck out nine and needed just one defensive gem to stave off the Nationals.

Cease, 28, walked three and induced one double play. He leads the major leagues with 168 strikeouts in 131 innings, and perhaps we should have seen this no-hitter coming. Thursday’s gem was the fourth time in six starts Cease gave up one or fewer hits, a stretch in which he’s lowered his ERA from 4.14 to 3.50.

The Padres were the last team in Major League Baseball without a no-hitter until Cease’s teammate, Joe Musgrove, no-hit the Texas Rangers on April 10, 2021. Cease needed just a little intervention – from nature and his center fielder – to pitch the second.

The game was delayed 76 minutes during the top of the first inning due to a passing storm. Cease had completed his pregame warmup but had not thrown a pitch; the Padres were fortunate he hadn’t yet taken the mound and that the rain passed relatively quickly.

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Then, in the top of the fifth, Juan Yepez led off with a bloop fly ball that second baseman Xander Bogaerts pursued with a poor route, getting turned around. He lunged to catch the ball but it popped out of his glove.

Mercifully, rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill was right there to snatch the ball out of midair, keeping the no-hitter intact.

With Cease at 94 pitches through seven innings, manager Mike Shildt shook Cease's hand and had a conversation before he went out for the eighth.

“He said, ‘Nice job,’" Cease told the Padres' TV broadcast, "and I looked up and it was like 94 pitches and I just said, ‘I feel great, and if we get through the next one in like 105…’ I’ve thrown 113 this year so thankfully, they let me talk them into it.

"And here we are."

Cease threw just eight pitches in the eighth before working a perfect ninth, finishing with a career-high 114 pitches as he induced CJ Abrams to fly to right fielder Bryce Johnson for the final out.

The Padres’ victory was their fifth in a row after losing the second-half opener at Cleveland, and they’ve moved into the lead, by percentage points over St. Louis, for the NL’s third wild card spot.

Cease says he has matured as a pitcher under  the tutelage of San Diego pitching coach Ruben Nieblas and in his fifth full season and first in the NL might be turning into the best version of himself.

“Anytime you gain another half-year of experience, that’s valuable,” he told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “Ruben has taught me some different pitches, shown me different pitch grips. Consistently pitching against new teams, in new environments. Anytime you’re forced to do new things, it’s going to ultimately end up making you grow.”

That growth continued Thursday.