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Instant Reaction: Dylan Cease’s complete game shutout sinks Red Sox as Blue Jays even up series
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Photo credit: © Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
Tristan Morgan
Jul 26, 2026, 07:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 26, 2026, 07:13 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays had a statement win on Saturday night against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park as Dylan Cease was the talk of the town, tossing a complete game shutout as he secured the 6-0 win while strengthening his American League Cy Young campaign.
Toronto headed into Saturday 47-57, having gone 2-6 since the All-Star Break. It was an underwhelming start to the second half of the season, to say the least, especially since they haven’t had a record over .500 since April 3rd. However, at least from the perspective of the clubhouse, the Blue Jays aren’t counting themselves out yet.
Back to Cease. Despite some velocity questions early on in Saturday’s game, where his fastball dipped multiple miles per hour below his average 97.6, it was smooth sailing the entire way.
The Blue Jays’ ace went the full nine innings while just allowing a single hit, walking three, and striking out an astounding 12 batters, six of them coming on the final six outs of the game. All the while, tossing 120 pitches in the marathon setting, a new career high, breaking his previous record of 118 just 17 days ago against the San Francisco Giants, this is also the most pitches thrown by any player in MLB this season.
Cease on the season now holds a 2.46 ERA, second best in AL, 167 strikeouts, best in AL, .186 opponent batting average, best in AL. The only blemishes on the night were a leadoff double from Andruw Monasterio in the sixth and a four-pitch walk to Caleb Durbin in the fifth, with Boston only mustering four baserunners on the night.
It marked the fourth career complete game for Cease and, fittingly, came exactly two years to the day after he threw a no-hitter for the San Diego Padres against Washington on July 25, 2024.
It’s also the first complete game the Blue Jays have gotten from anyone since Kevin Gausman’s two-hit shutout of the Astros on September 11th, 2025.
And the one-hitter specifically was the first complete game shutout one-hitter for the Blue Jays since Shaun Marcum, who was Manager John Schneider’s roommate in Single-A and Triple-A, turned the trick August 16th, 2010, against the Oakland Athletics.
Cease’s average pitch velocity was down across the board Saturday, about 2.28 mph across his six pitches, which made the outing all the more impressive given he still racked up a dozen strikeouts and needed just one full turn through the Red Sox order to become nearly unhittable.
The offence followed Cease’s lead. George Springer collected a multi-hit game Saturday while driving a three-run shot over the Green Monster in the third inning. In his last seven games, he’s hitting .333 with 6 RBI and nine hits, a stretch that has coincided with him sliding back up toward the top of Toronto’s lineup after an otherwise inconsistent season.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., when addressing the media earlier in the day, asked fans for patience. It didn’t take long, as Guerrero Jr. collected three hits in this one with a walk while tagging on a couple of RBI, though the usual power he provides may require a longer waiting game despite the frustration from all parties.
Ernie Clement kept doing his thing Saturday. He also collected three hits paired with an RBI, hitting in the bottom half of the order, as he’s hitting .312 in the last month of play with 11 runs. Though the advanced numbers will make some mathematicians cringe, it’s hard to argue with a microscopic 9.6% strikeout rate and 16.4% whiff rate. Clement has his own brand of baseball, and for the last two seasons, it has been working very, very well in his favour.
The Toronto offence peaked in an explosive 5-run third inning against Boston starter Sonny Gray, who didn’t share the same good fortune as Cease. Gray came in riding a 1.07 ERA in his last 25.1 innings pitched with 24 strikeouts and a stellar 0.91 WHIP, but through five innings pitched Saturday, he coughed up ten hits while allowing five earned runs. 
It’s hard to be optimistic looking from the outside in on the Blue Jays right now. They are last place in the division, 13 games back of the AL East lead, asix games out of the final Wild Card spot, with all signs pointing to a fire sale of expiring contracts at the trade deadline. However, this truly was a statement win against the Red Sox, especially with Guerrero Jr.’s words of encouragement: “Anything can happen.”
Last season was magical but also improbable before they hit their stride in June en route to the World Series, and there is a reality where the Blue Jays are down but not out in 2026. They’ll get a chance to build on it Sunday afternoon in the rubber match, with Kevin Gausman taking the mound in potentially his final start as a Blue Jay against Ranger Suárez.
Now 48-57, nine games below .500 with 57 games to go, it’s sink or swim for Toronto. The front office may sell, but it’ll be a battle of wits off the field to see what the team can do with the pieces remaining after August 3rd. This win, though, should sit in the mind of GM Ross Atkins when deciding his trade options.
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