BOSTON – With the field half-covered in shadows at Fenway Park Saturday afternoon, Dylan Cease threw his 120th pitch of the afternoon and pumped his fist.
He had just struck out Wilyer Abreu looking – or so it seemed. Once an ABS review confirmed the strike-three call, Cease raised his arms above his head in celebration as his teammates jogged over to join him.
He had just delivered one of the most dominant performances of his career, pitching a one-hitter at Fenway Park to out-duel Red Sox starter Sonny Gray as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 6-0 in front of 36,902.
It was the Blue Jays’ first one-hitter since Shaun Marcum dominated the Athletics on August 16, 2010, and Cease was an Andruw Monasterio double away from joining Dave Stieb as the only Blue Jay ever to throw a no-hitter.
What’s even more remarkable is that the right-hander did so with diminished velocity. While his fastball gained velocity as the day progressed, he averaged just 95.8 m.p.h., considerably below his season average of 97.6.
It’s been a spectacular debut season in Toronto for Cease – but far less so for his new team. Now 48-57, the Blue Jays remain on the outer edges of the American League wild-card race, 6.0 games behind the Red Sox and Guardians.
Big-picture, the Blue Jays are still poorly positioned. Now nine games under .500, they’ll have to go on an extended run to get back into contention. Otherwise, selling off pending free agents may be the logical move for the front office.
But here at Fenway Park, Cease did everything within his power to keep the Blue Jays’ 2026 hopes alive. For the second time this month, he took a no-hit bid into the late innings only to lose it.
Cease struck out 12 on the afternoon, walking just three. One day after Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler said he “deserved the opportunity” to start the All-Star Game, Cease showed why he got the nod instead.
Those two now appear to be the frontrunners for the American League Cy Young Award, with Schlittler’s 2.06 ERA still ahead of Cease’s 2.46 mark.
Offensively, the Blue Jays broke out with a five-run rally against Gray in the third inning. A George Springer home run was the big swing of the day, one of six consecutive hits the Blue Jays would record in the frame.
It was also a productive day at the plate for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who contributed three hits and a walk after offering some thoughts on the state of the team earlier in the day. Speaking to the media outside the visiting clubhouse, Guerrero Jr. expressed frustration over the team’s record while saying “the vibes are good” in the locker room.
Guerrero Jr. said he hasn’t spoken with GM Ross Atkins about how the team will approach the upcoming trade deadline, but he did have a message for fans.
“Be patient,” he said. “I know things are not going the way we wanted, but I can promise all our fans that every time we go out there (our goal) is to win the game. We’re humans. Sometimes things don’t happen the way you want, regardless of your preparation or what you do. That’s baseball, but I can promise them we’re going to continue to work hard … we need for our fan base to be there right now because you never know, things can change.”
Asked about how his star player is responding to the pressure, manager John Schneider praised Guerrero Jr.’s approach.
“He’s handling it well,” Schneider said. “He’s saying like he’s not been as good as he can be. We haven’t been as good as we can be. It’s accountability, you know? And I think he’s done a good job of having that.”
Nineteen starts into his 2026 season, there’s no questioning Cease’s accountability, either. While bigger picture questions continue lingering around this edition of the Blue Jays, Cease continues to pitch like an ace.
And regardless of where this season leads for the team, performances like this put him front and centre in any discussion about the AL Cy Young Award.