Dylan Cease struggles through five against Boston

Pitching with a huge lead after the second inning, Cease cruised to his 10th win of the season here. It was more of an old school outing for Cease though as he leaned heavily on his fastball and slider without throwing many changeups. That pitch was all over the place, about five ticks slower than its season average, and a few floated on him so it made sense that he went away from it. Nevertheless, Cease left this start with a 2.25 ERA as he continues to work towards his first Cy Young award. He has a two-start week coming up first against the Athletics in Sacramento and then back home for a meeting with the Orioles.

In July and August, Cease has allowed just 11 earned runs in 10 starts while striking out 89 batters in 73 innings. This effort could only lower his ERA from 2.37 to 2.33. The 30-year-old has lived up to his big contract this season and should finish quite high in the Cy Young balloting. He draws the Guardians next week in another no-thought-required start for fantasy managers.

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.

Louis Varland gave up a game-tying homer in the ninth. Cease has allowed four earned runs and struck out 56 in six starts since the beginning of July, and he’s nearly caught Cam Schlittler for the AL ERA lead (2.28 vs. 2.26). He’s first in the AL and second in the majors with his 184 strikeouts. His next start will come against the same Red Sox team he pitched a one-hitter against on two weeks ago.

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.