Dylan Cease took a no-hitter into the seventh inning today, and even he wasn't fully sure how.
He finished with 6.2 innings, allowing two hits, one run, and one earned run, while walking five and striking out eight.
Five walks in a start that flirted with history is an odd combination, and Cease knew it.
"My command was kind of iffy," Cease said afterward. He admitted he never really settled into a rhythm out there.
Even so, he called the outing "good" overall, and it's hard to argue with a start that got this close to a no-no.
Eight strikeouts against just two hits shows the stuff was working even when the location wasn't sharp.
That's the profile of a pitcher surviving on pure stuff through a night where the fine details weren't quite there.
Why Cease says this stretch of the season feels different
Asked how he felt physically after the outing, Cease didn't sugarcoat it.
"It's August. Definitely grinding a little bit," he said.
That's an honest admission from a pitcher signed to a long-term deal specifically to anchor innings deep into seasons like this one.
Five walks might be a red flag on paper, but getting through 6.2 innings with a shutout line covers for a lot of that.
For a Blue Jays team chasing a wild-card spot, a start like this from Cease is exactly the kind of length the rotation has needed.
Whether the command issues are a one-start blip or a sign of a pitcher wearing down late in a long season is worth watching from here.
For today, at least, the walks didn't matter. The strikeouts and the zeroes did.
Are you more impressed by Dylan Cease's stuff or concerned about his command after this start?
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