Blue Jays Manager Explains Letting Dylan Cease Pitch Into 9th Inning After Losing No-Hitter

Dylan Cease's pitch count was rather high heading into the ninth inning of Wednesday's game against the San Francisco Giants.

But he also had a no-hitter, and Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider wanted him to go for it.

"I'm a fan of baseball," Schneider told reporters when explaining why he let Cease continue pitching with the no-hitter on the line. "If a guy has a chance to throw a no-hitter, I think you let him do it. And I think you make adjustments after that. … It's not very often you get to see that."

Ultimately, Cease gave up a single to Heliot Ramos to start the bottom of the ninth and was then removed with 118 pitches. Tyler Rogers recorded the next three outs to secure the dominant 10-0 victory for the Blue Jays.

His 118 pitches were a career-high, but a no-hitter would not have been his first.

The right-hander threw a no-hitter against the Washington Nationals when he was with the San Diego Padres in July 2024. He would have become the 36th pitcher in league history to record multiple no-hitters had he notched three more outs Wednesday.

Blue Jays vs. Giants (07/08/2026)

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Despite not finishing the no-hitter, it was more of the same for Cease this season.

He has a 2.56 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 148 strikeouts in 98.1 innings after adding 11 more punchouts to his league-leading total.

If Cease continues pitching at this level, he will probably have another opportunity to pursue his second no-hitter of his career. And when he does, it's clear his manager is going to leave him in the game.