Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease nearly unhittable in complete game masterpiece against Red Sox

After a called strike on a changeup, everyone in Fenway Park turned to the centerfield video board. One hundred twenty pitches, one hit, and a shutout. Was it over?

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It was. The ABS review confirmed the ball caught the top left corner of the zone, giving Dylan Cease his 12th punchout as he threw his hands up in celebration. What was he celebrating?

“Just that it was over and I can go rest,” Cease said.

But that’s not what he should’ve been celebrating. Not only did he register his second one-hitter of the year, but he tallied the first complete-game, one-hit shutout by a visiting pitcher at Fenway since Félix Hernandez in 2007.

“It’s the story of the game,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said. “Not much to say. He was awfully good and in the zone. Frequently in the zone, and ahead in the count, he had good stuff. There are games you play where you have to tip your cap. He threw the ball very, very well.”

It’s not everyday history like that is made, especially when it comes against the hottest team in baseball.

“This is a really really tough place to play,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “You look up and once you get into the seventh inning, you get the seventh inning stretch. You get ‘Sweet Caroline.’ You get 20,000 people with their shirts off, they’re waiting for something to happen. I think for Dylan to kind of slow that down, and take pitches one at a time, was really impressive.”

Whether because of the fans or ballpark dimensions, Fenway being hard for opposing pitchers is an understatement. If Cease held up the no-no bid, it would’ve been the first by a Fenway visitor since Jim Bunning in 1958.

Cease didn’t worry about the challenges of the ballpark.

“It’s all the same really, just throw strikes,” Cease said. “Coors Field is the only field you really got to manage in terms of like maybe changing gameplans.”

Cease threw 80 strikes, and the only hit he allowed was a double on a slider outside the zone to Andruw Monasterio.

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He also struck out six of the Red Sox’ last seven batters, turning up the heat in the process. He registered at least 98 miles per hour on three four-seam fastballs in the ninth.

It’s impressive considering he was way deep into the pitch count, but even more impressive looking at the start of the game. Cease averaged 93.7 m.p.h. on four-seamers in the first inning, and 94 in the second.

For reference, his four-seamers average 97.6 this season. He recovered, increasing his fastball velocity each inning, but it was an uncharacteristic start to say the least.

“My body was a little cranky early, so I was just kind of just working with what I had, making sure I threw strikes,” Cease said. “And then get to the fifth and I got a no-hitter going and all that, it’s like, my body’s loosening up, and then I start stepping out a little more. And then by the end, you got the kill in sight, so I was just going for it.”

The slow start didn’t affect Cease in the grand scheme of things, and neither did the amount of almosts he encountered on the way to his big game.

The challenge on the final play is one, but he also nearly let up a home run to start the ninth. A swing from Connor Wong that sent the ball to the corner of the Green Monster seemed like a homer to many, but was called a foul ball, which stood upon review. Wong struck out on the next pitch.

The close calls, slow start, pitch count, and ballpark should all make it tough for a pitcher to stay locked in for an entire game, but Cease said he focused on winning. That he did, and he made history in the process.

“There’s not much to say other than just say a really good pitcher threw a really good game,” Tracy said.

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