Dylan Cease shuts out Cubs for seven, fans 10

Cease walked five batters and managed to keep a no-hit bid alive until Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled on his 106th pitch of the contest with two outs in the seventh inning. He finished with eight strikeouts in his second consecutive outing against New York. The 30-year-old All-Star righty has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine consecutive starts since July 3. He’ll carry a stellar 2.37 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 209/64 K/BB ratio across 144 1/3 innings into a face off against the struggling Mariners in his next start on Friday.

Cease allowed two hits and three walks. He became the first American League pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts this season, a mark he has hit in six consecutive campaigns. The last two pitchers to accomplish that feat were Max Scherzer and Chris Sale. Cease has been on a roll, and the AL Cy Young race between him and Cam Schlittler is getting tight. Up next is a rematch against the Yankees, this time in the Bronx.

With his velocity down some once again, Cease was probably one batter away from getting pulled in the fourth in a rare off night tonight, but he did get through five with seven strikeouts. The Red Sox simply didn’t make him pay enough for walking four and giving up two homers. Cease will take on the Yankees on Sunday.

The decision to pitch Taillon in Houston bumps Dylan Cease back to Thursday’s series opener against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. It’ll be José Soriano making his Toronto debut on Friday as they transition to a six-man rotation on a temporary basis.

Run support was hard to come by for both pitchers in this one, as Cease and Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy combined to allow just two earned runs on the night. Cease’s lone earned run came in the fifth inning when Jordan Walker singled to bring home Nathan Church to put the Cardinals up 1-0, but he was bailed out of the loss in the sixth inning thanks to a Kazuma Okamoto double that brought home Vladdy Jr. to tie the game at 1-1. Were it not for a three-run outing against the Rays, Cease’s numbers for July would have been even more impressive than the 3-1 record he posted with a 1.00 ERA and 0.72 WHIP. He’ll look to continue his recent run of dominance in his next start, which is scheduled for Wednesday on the the road against the Astros.

On the second anniversary of Cease’s no-hitter for the Padres in 2024, it looked like he’d be on the verge of history once again as he held the Red Sox without a hit through five innings before Andruw Monasterio led off the sixth with a double. It was the only hit he’d allow on the day as he went the distance in this one, recording the last six outs all via the strikeout to collect a dozen.

Cease was tagged for seven hits, including solo homers by Victor Mesa Jr. and Cedric Mullins. He finished with seven strikeouts and only issued one walk. A whopping three errors, including one by Cease himself, led to only one of the additional three runs being earned in this one. It was a rare clunker for the 30-year-old since he had allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his previous six starts since returning from the injured list on June 9. He’ll wrap up a two-start week with a road matchup against the suddenly red-hot Red Sox on Sunday.

Cease took the ball for the American League and delivered an impressive performance in his first Midsummer Classic. He struck out Kyle Schwarber with a nasty slider before blowing a 98-mph fastball past Juan Soto. It was Freddie Freeman who extended the inning with a nine-pitch walk, but Cease rebounded to strike out CJ Abrams and escape the frame completely unscathed. The 30-year-old righty wrapped up a phenomenal first half in his Blue Jays debut with a 2.56 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 148/44 K/BB ratio over 98 1/3 innings. He’s performed like a bona fide fantasy ace and will open the second half with a home start this weekend against his former club, the upstart White Sox.

Cease has been outstanding in 2026 in his first year with the Blue Jays with a 2.56 ERA and 148 strikeouts, albeit with an unlucky 6-4 record. He’ll likely go an inning — maybe two — before giving way to the plethora of quality arms in the AL “bullpen.”

Cease was at 106 pitches after seven, but he clearly wanted to continue, and after a nine-pitch eighth, he was allowed to start the ninth. He wound up throwing just three pitches then, the last of which was a clean single from Heliot Ramos. Tyler Walker replaced him and preserved the shutout against his former club. Cease, who pitched a no-hitter for the Padres in 2024, struck out 11 and walked three. He has six 10-strikeout games this season and 31 for his career. The first-time All-Star closes out the first half 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA. He’s second in the majors with 148 strikeouts and seventh in ERA.