CINCINNATI -- This one felt different.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta threw his second no-hitter since August on Thursday night, beating the Cincinnati Reds 16-0. But seemingly it came with less fanfare than his first one, when he shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Maybe it’s because Arrieta admittedly had less than his best stuff on Thursday, or maybe because the opponent was less than marquee. Or perhaps it was because no-hitter No. 1 came on Sunday Night Baseball, with Cy Young candidates Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw watching from the other dugout. Or maybe it was just where he threw them. Hollywood and Cincinnati will never be confused for each other.

Or maybe the difference in the feel after the game stems from knowing this is now the new normal for the Cubs and their ace. Walking into the locker room after the 16-0 win, you wouldn’t know it was the largest margin of victory in a no-hitter since 1884.

“That’s Jake,” Dexter Fowler said several times. “We expect this.”

And baseball is expecting a lot from the Cubs, who keep delivering over the first month of the season. The moment there are some whispers about low batting averages and a slump at the plate, they break out for 18 hits. Don’t tell Kris Bryant he’s struggling. Instead of taking batting practice on a rain-soaked field before the game, Bryant took it a few hours later when he hit two home runs and drove in six.

“Batting practice is overrated,” Bryant said.

The Cubs have found their style. They’ve adopted manager Joe Maddon’s less-is-more philosophy while truly playing relaxed baseball, knowing the guy next to them will pick up the slack when needed. When John Lackey struggles a bit in his first two starts as a Cub, the team puts up a combined 23 runs for him. When they come back down to earth in his third outing, he shuts out the St. Louis Cardinals.

“The guys are playing for each other,” Maddon said recently and many other times. “I don’t care if we’re hitting or not, they’re giving great at-bats.”

Back to the locker room scene.

At Dodger Stadium, it felt like New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July, combined, after Arrieta’s first no-hitter. On Thursday, “they had their party on” after the game, as one Cub put it, but things subsided quickly. Arrieta was less emotional the second time around -- his catcher, David Ross, made up for that, of course.

It feels like this could be the Cubs moving forward. Sort of acting as if they’ve been there before. In Arrieta’s case, he had. Not that no-hitters will ever feel normal, but whenever Arrieta is on the mound there’s an expectation he’ll do something special. Same goes for the team this season.

These days it’s more surprising when Arrieta gets hit than when he doesn’t. And it’s more surprising when the Cubs lose a game, let alone a series. If a major slump in the standings is coming, it’s going to be hard to predict for this team. Can that many facets slump at once? Maybe for a few games, but with Arrieta available every five days the end of a slump -- and the possibility of another special moment -- is just around the corner.

Many asked after his first no-hitter how long it would take until he threw another. The same question still applies. When will Arrieta and the Cubs do something special again?

Soon is probably the best answer. It’s their new reality.