Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees

One day, Dylan Cease will pull up a chair to Dave Stieb’s table. No-hitters are mythical in Toronto. It has been nearly 36 years since Stieb finally recorded the first and only no-hitter in Blue Jays history, and for 36 years, pitchers have shown up on Stieb’s doorstep. A few of them have even knocked on the door, but that lock has never turned. This time, Cease lugged his no-no through 6 2/3 innings Saturday at Yankee Stadium. It wasn’t nearly as clean, dominant or dramatic as the bid he carried into the ninth inning in San Francisco in July, but each of these flickers feels like something we’ll be referencing at some point down the road during Cease’s contract. It’s a cruel tradition in this organization that all of the greats have gone through. “It feels like this happens every time he steps on the mound. The guy is unbelievable,” said Nathan Lukes, whose solo shot in the eighth was the eventual game-winner in a 4-3 victory over the Yankees. “It’s special what he’s doing this year. Being able to play behind him makes this even more special.” Even the great Stieb, who finally reached the mountaintop on Sept. 2, 1990, suffered so many heartbreaks along the way. He originally lost a perfect game and two no-hitters in 1988 and ‘89, all three ending with two outs in the ninth inning. Roy Halladay, Brandon Morrow and Dustin McGowan have all lost no-hitters in the ninth inning, too, and Bowden Francis had two heartbreaks in late 2024. This individual bid will be forgotten by next week, but it adds another chapter to a season that has become undeniable. Cease’s five walks muddied the waters Saturday, but he still held the Yankees to just one run over his 6 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 2.37. It’s down to Cease and Cam Schlittler for the American League Cy Young Award, and at this point, it’s close enough to call a dead heat. “He’s been doing this all year,” Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said through interpreter Hector Lebron. “This is the second or third game where he’s taken it late into the game. What else can I say about him? Every day he’s out there, he gives us all that he has.” Cease has been a road warrior, too. The lone run allowed ended Cease’s road scoreless streak at 42 innings, the second-longest road scoreless streak in at least the Expansion Era (since 1961). That trailed only 2004-05 Roger Clemens at 48 1/3 innings. Cease is a workhorse, too, going over 100 pitches in 11 of his past 12 starts. Cease feels like the type of pitcher