Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta had taken no-hitters deep into games before, but he never had previously completed the feat. He did so Sunday night in Los Angeles, taking down the Dodgers, 2-0. Here's the final out of the masterpiece: 

The only runners Arrieta allowed came via an error on second baseman Starlin Castro and a walk to Jimmy Rollins. Otherwise, Arrieta was perfect. He had his usual nasty stuff, baffling Dodgers hitters with his slider (which is kind of a hybrid slider/cutter) and was pumping mid-to-high 90s with his fastball. Thus, it's not surprising that he struck out 12 batters, including his final three.

''It went by so quick, really,'' Arrieta said. ''Feels like that could have been five innings the way that played out. The stuff was good, commanded the ball well. Kind of speechless right now.''

This was the first Cubs' no-hitter since Carlos Zambrano threw one in 2008. Overall, this is the Cubs' 14th no-hitter in franchise history, dating back to Larry Corcoran's three no-hitters in the 19th century.

''I think it will be more special the longer it sets in,'' Arrieta said. ''Come a long way, keep getting better.''

The humble Arrieta after the game mostly wanted to praise his teammates, calling the defense behind him "lights out" multiple times.

There was, however, a small bit of controversy. This play was ruled an error:

Starlin Castro was charged with an error on the play, but the Dodgers players after the game contended this should've been a hit. Arrieta had the following to say:

''I thought it was a hit. Tough play. Hernandez hit it well. Tough short hop for Castro. They scored it an error, thankfully so, and I was able to finish it off.''

It should be noted that Arrieta is a good teammate and could very well be simply getting Castro's back on what looked to be a real tough play. Or he could be telling the actual truth as he sees it. Regardless, this is a no-hitter for now.

This outing marked Arrieta's third career shutout. As mentioned earlier, he had flirted with no-nos several times before. Last year, he took a no-hitter into the seventh and then next outing took one into the eighth in June. In September, he took one into the eighth as well. In that September outing, he ended up throwing a one-hit shutout against Cincinnati.

So, yeah, this seemed like a distinct possibility for Arrieta, especially as he cruised through this August. Before Sunday, Arrieta was 5-0 with a 0.54 ERA this month. Overall, he's now 17-6 (leading all of MLB in wins) with a 2.11 ERA this season. He's a threat to win the NL Cy Young.

The no-no marks the sixth this season. Chris Heston did it first on June 9 and then it was on. Max Scherzer followed on June 20, Cole Hamels threw one against the Cubs on July 25, Hisashi Iwakuma did it Aug. 12 and Mike Fiers threw a no-hitter against these Dodgers on Aug. 21.

Jake Arrieta has thrown a no-hitter.
Jake Arrieta has thrown a no-hitter. (USATSI)