Dylan Cease came within one out of history on Wednesday night, only to see Heliot Ramos break up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the ninth inning at Oracle Park.
The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander had carved through eight no-hit innings before Ramos spoiled the bid on Cease’s career-high 118th pitch. After that, Cease was pulled to a standing ovation, and Tyler Rogers handled the final three outs as Toronto rolled to a 10-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Cease was sharp from the start and never really let up. He struck out 11 over eight-plus innings, walked three and allowed just four fly-ball outs. Toronto’s defense helped keep the dream alive deep into the game, with second baseman Ernie Clement and center fielder Daulton Varsho both making standout plays late before Ramos finally got San Francisco on the board in the hit column.
The near miss was another eye-catching chapter in Cease’s run with the Blue Jays. He signed a seven-year, $210-million deal with Toronto in the offseason and has backed it up in a big way.
He now leads the AL with 148 strikeouts and a 13.6 K/9, while his 2.56 ERA ranks second in the Junior Circuit. Cease was also named an All-Star for the first time and is a leading candidate to start for the AL in next week’s Midsummer Classic.
This wasn’t Cease’s first brush with a no-hitter, either. He threw one for the San Diego Padres on July 25, 2024. Since then, only Blake Snell - who did it for the Giants a week later - has completed a no-hitter.
Toronto’s offense made sure Cease’s effort didn’t go to waste. The Blue Jays put five runs on Logan Webb, with Kazuma Okamoto’s first-inning grand slam setting the tone. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer then went back-to-back in the ninth, and for Guerrero, it was his first homer since June 18 after a rough season at the plate.
The Blue Jays’ no-hit bid also pushed San Francisco to the brink of another unwanted piece of history, as the Giants narrowly avoided being no-hit for the first time since 2013.
Toronto still has only one no-hitter in franchise history, thrown by Dave Stieb at Cleveland on Sept. 2, 1990.
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