The San Diego Padres let Dylan Cease leave in free agency, and today he showed his old strikeout stuff in Toronto.
Former San Diego Padres ace Dylan Cease reminded the Padres of what they passed on by letting him go to free agency, as he struck out 12, including seven in a row, in his debut for the Toronto Blue Jays. Cease didn’t need long to do it, either, as he recorded the strikeouts in just 5-1/3 innings of one-run ball against the Athletics, according to an account written by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
Cease set a franchise record for the Blue Jays for the most strikeouts in a debut for the franchise, and with the Blue Jays celebrating their 50th anniversary this season, he’ll join some illustrious company. The pitcher he topped was David Price, who had 11 strikeouts in his Toronto debut in 2015 after the Blue Jays traded for Price to bolster their rotation for the stretch run.
The Blue Jays newest starter was in control and enjoying the moment, according to Matheson, as he waved to fans on his way out to the bullpen to warm up. He scanned the bleachers while walking off each inning, the writer added, enjoying his new environment.
Cease’s stretch of seven strikeouts in a row came from the third inning to the fifth. That tied the franchise record set by Alek Manoah back in 2021, and Cease even hit 100 mph with one of his fastballs during that stretch.
The pitch tracking era didn’t start until 2008, but only one other Blue Jays starter has touched 100 mph in that time, with Brandon Morrow accomplishing that feat for the Jays back in 2010. Just two other Jays starters have broken the triple-digit barrier last year during the regular season as Louis Varland and Seranthony Dominguez did it.
Toronto’s staff hasn’t exactly been known for posting strikeouts, but Kevin Gausman had 237 back in 2023, and now they have Cease and Cody Ponce, with Trey Yesavage representing the future when he gets healthy again.
“I really love our pitching staff this year,” Gausman said. “I think it’s the best, stuff-wise, since I’ve been here, and we’ve had great pitching staffs since I’ve been here. That’s what’s exciting for me. The swing-and-miss is probably more than we’ve ever had.”
Toronto ended up hanging on to win 8-7, while the Padres have struggled against the Detroit Tigers in their opening series as they try to deal with the swing-and-miss stuff of starters Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez. San Diego will send Randy Vasquez to the mound tonight against Detroit as the Pads try to get their first win of the season.