of the brought a no-hitter into the ninth inning on Wednesday vs. the , but fell three outs short when lined a single to center to open the frame. The Blue Jays won the game .
Cease was in pursuit of the second no-hitter of his career and the first by a Blue Jay since Dave Stieb in 1990 — only the (1981) have a longer no-hitter drought. Cease previously threw a no-hitter as a member of the in 2024, and this marks the second occasion in which he’s lost a no-hit bid in the ninth inning. Just six pitchers have ever thrown three no-hitters, and Cease has come close to joining their exclusive ranks.
Had Cease completed the job, it would have been the second no-hitter of the 2026 Major League Baseball season, joining on May 25. Instead, the streak without an individual no-hitter will carry on. The last came from in August of 2024, when he was, coincidentally, a member of the Giants, who haven’t been held without a hit in a game since effort on July 2, 2013.
Cease’s no-hit bid nearly ended in the top of the eighth, when rookie drove a ball almost 400 feet to center. Fortunately for Cease, elite fly-catcher Dauton Varsho was on the case:
Is this THE PLAY?!
Daulton Varsho makes an amazing catch to keep Dylan Cease’s no-hitter intact 👏
Based on the quality of contact metrics, Eldridge’s ball had an expected batting average of .770. The Gold Glove winner Varsho, though, made the play and preserved Cease’s no-hit bid. But it would not last.
Cease entered the game as the American League leader in strikeouts, and burnished his reputation as one of MLB’s top starting pitchers with his matinee effort at Oracle Park:
Of Cease’s career-high 118 pitches, 81 went for strikes. Cease twice touched 99 mph with his fastball in the eighth inning despite that rising pitch count. His average velocity in the eighth was higher than it was during the first four innings of his start. Overall, he earned first-pitch strikes against the Giants 75% of the time on Wednesday, and Cease also earned 16 swings and misses, eight of which came on his slider.
With that gem, Cease now boasts an ERA of 2.56 and an of 2.20 across 17 starts in this, the first year of the $175 million free agent pact he signed with Toronto. He has 148 strikeouts in 98 ⅓ innings this season. That’s dominance, and it raises the matter of whether Cease will be the starter for the American League in the upcoming All-Star Game in Philadelphia.
of the would also be a worthy choice. However, Cease will be on full rest for Tuesday’s event, and Blue Jays manager John Schneider will be making the call on who starts for the AL. In other words, all signs point to Cease, who this season earned his first All-Star selection.
As for the Jays, the reigning pennant winners have been a disappointment thus far, but the win on Wednesday nudged them up to 44-49 on the year. They’re now out of playoff position in the AL by just three games.
