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The Toronto Blue Jays' 36-year-old no-hitter jinx still hasn't met its match.
But Dylan Cease nearly finished the job.
Cease came three outs shy of pitching the second no-hitter of his career and just the second in Blue Jays history Wednesday, July 8, striking out 11 San Francisco Giants and throwing a career-high 118 pitches in a 10-0 conquest of the San Francisco Giants.
He took a no-hitter into the top of the ninth inning, but Heliot Ramos ended the suspense quickly with a solid single to center field. And so the Blue Jays no-hitter saga continued, despite manager John Schneider's best efforts.
Cease, 30, is in the first year of a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Blue Jays, and they certainly expected him to dominate. Yet pitch efficiency has been a bugaboo in his first season in Toronto, and it nearly derailed his no-hit hopes.
But Schneider just kept sending him out there, and Cease kept rewarding his faith.
He was aiming to throw the first no-hitter for Toronto since Dave Stieb tossed the first in Blue Jays history on Sept. 2, 1990 at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. And that didn't come easy: Stieb had three no-hit bids broken up with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before making Toronto baseball history.
Cease tried taking the long way home: He walked three batters and had thrown 115 pitches through eight innings. Three days earlier, the Miami Marlins lifted Eury Perez after needing 92 pitches to complete seven perfect innings.
But Perez has been injury-prone; Cease threw a 114-pitch no-hitter as a member of the San Diego Padres against the Washington Nationals in 2024. That stood as his career high in pitches until Wednesday.
And so he jogged out to the ninth, buoyed by the one great play so many no-hitters seem to include: Center fielder Myles Straw chasing down Bryce Eldridge's fly ball to left center field, hauling it in and then crashing into the fence, some 399 feet from home plate.
Cease also shouted out Ernie Clement's across-the-body throw to get Willy Adames after the second baseman ranged across the bag to field the chopper in the seventh.
"Usually a couple of those happen every no-hitter" Cease said of Varsho's catch in an interview with Sportsnet. "Ern Dawg made a good play up the middle the inning before. When you start to see stuff like that, you start to think maybe it’s your day."
Nobody could stop Ramos' solid shot to center, though. Perhaps next time.
"I probably should've thrown a slider," Cease said after leaving a 96-mph sinker up in the zone for Ramos.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dylan Cease no-hitter bid, chance to make Blue Jays history falls short
Continue reading...
But Dylan Cease nearly finished the job.
Cease came three outs shy of pitching the second no-hitter of his career and just the second in Blue Jays history Wednesday, July 8, striking out 11 San Francisco Giants and throwing a career-high 118 pitches in a 10-0 conquest of the San Francisco Giants.
He took a no-hitter into the top of the ninth inning, but Heliot Ramos ended the suspense quickly with a solid single to center field. And so the Blue Jays no-hitter saga continued, despite manager John Schneider's best efforts.
Cease, 30, is in the first year of a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Blue Jays, and they certainly expected him to dominate. Yet pitch efficiency has been a bugaboo in his first season in Toronto, and it nearly derailed his no-hit hopes.
But Schneider just kept sending him out there, and Cease kept rewarding his faith.
He was aiming to throw the first no-hitter for Toronto since Dave Stieb tossed the first in Blue Jays history on Sept. 2, 1990 at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. And that didn't come easy: Stieb had three no-hit bids broken up with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before making Toronto baseball history.
Cease tried taking the long way home: He walked three batters and had thrown 115 pitches through eight innings. Three days earlier, the Miami Marlins lifted Eury Perez after needing 92 pitches to complete seven perfect innings.
But Perez has been injury-prone; Cease threw a 114-pitch no-hitter as a member of the San Diego Padres against the Washington Nationals in 2024. That stood as his career high in pitches until Wednesday.
And so he jogged out to the ninth, buoyed by the one great play so many no-hitters seem to include: Center fielder Myles Straw chasing down Bryce Eldridge's fly ball to left center field, hauling it in and then crashing into the fence, some 399 feet from home plate.
Cease also shouted out Ernie Clement's across-the-body throw to get Willy Adames after the second baseman ranged across the bag to field the chopper in the seventh.
"Usually a couple of those happen every no-hitter" Cease said of Varsho's catch in an interview with Sportsnet. "Ern Dawg made a good play up the middle the inning before. When you start to see stuff like that, you start to think maybe it’s your day."
Nobody could stop Ramos' solid shot to center, though. Perhaps next time.
"I probably should've thrown a slider," Cease said after leaving a 96-mph sinker up in the zone for Ramos.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dylan Cease no-hitter bid, chance to make Blue Jays history falls short
Continue reading...
