This one started with a bang, literally. The Blue Jays jumped on the Giants for a first-inning grand slam and never let off the gas, and by the time it was over Toronto had a laugher on the scoreboard. But the score was the undercard. The main event was Dylan Cease trying to become a 2-time no-hit author against a lineup that simply could not touch him.
THE JAYS ARE SCORING GRAND SLAM OKAMOTO https://t.co/uRjt640Cj6
From there it was Cease's show. Inning after inning the Giants kept putting up zeroes on the hit column while Toronto tacked on runs, and the crowd at Oracle Park started paying attention to the only number that mattered. By the 6th, Cease had a no-no going and the defense behind him was locking in to protect it.
The Blue Jays kept the line moving into the 7th, with Cease sitting at 91 mph late in the outing and still generating soft contact and grounders. Then came the play that will get replayed the most: Daulton Varsho tracking a ball to the wall in front of the Konica Minolta sign, hauling it in, and pumping his fist like he knew exactly what he'd just saved.
DAULTON VARSHO PRESERVES THE NO NO https://t.co/PL4uomMyjY
By the time Cease jogged off after strikeout 11 in the 8th, Toronto led 7-0 and the building had the buzz of a legit no-hit watch. He took the mound for the 9th already at a career-high pitch count, chasing what would've been his 2nd career no-hitter after previously throwing one with the Padres. It didn't happen — Heliot Ramos lined a single up the middle just 3 pitches into the frame, and both fanbases stood up to give Cease an ovation as he walked off.
There goes the no hitter Hell of an outing for Dylan Cease https://t.co/va3fvFvVAj
Final line: 8-plus innings, 11 strikeouts, a career-high 118 pitches, and a 10-0 win to show for it. Cease's strikeout total pushed him to the AL lead for the season, and the standing ovation from a road crowd tells you everything about how the game was being watched by the end. No-hitters are rare enough that getting within 3 outs twice in a career is its own kind of remarkable, even without the final piece.