Cease dazzles in one-hit shutout as Blue Jays blank Red Sox

BOSTON (AP) — Dylan Cease took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished with a one-hit complete game, George Springer hit a three-run homer to highlight a five-run third and the Toronto Blue Jays cooled off the Boston Red Sox 6-0 on Saturday. Ernie Clement added an RBI double and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a run-scoring single in the big inning for Toronto, which lost the opener of the three-game series Friday. Guerrero drove in two runs. It was just the second loss in 18 games for the Red Sox, who matched an 80-year-old club record with 15 straight wins before it was snapped Wednesday night. Cease (7-5), the American League’s All-Star starter, gave up a leadoff double to Andruw Monasterio in the sixth. The only previous baserunner came on a four-pitch walk to Caleb Durbin in the fifth. “That was awesome. I was very happy to get it done,” Cease said after becoming the first Blue Jays pitcher to throw a one-hit complete game shutout since Brandon Morrow on Aug. 8, 2010. Cease struck out 12, including the final six outs, and walked three en route to his fourth career complete game and shutout, his first since a he threw a no-hitter for the San Diego Padres at Washington on July 25, 2024. On July 8, the 30-year-old right-hander had a no-hitter broken up with a leadoff single in ninth inning at San Francisco. Mixing a sharp slider with a changeup and fastball from the sunshine into the shadows early in the game, Cease had very little hard contact. Besides Monasterio’s line double down the left-field line, Masataka Yoshida hit a medium-deep fly to center. Boston starter Sonny Gray (12-2) was tagged for five runs on 10 hits, six coming in the third. The last visiting pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Fenway Park was Jim Bunning on July 20, 1958. Up next Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (4-9, 4.51 ERA) is set to start the series finale on Sunday afternoon. Red Sox LHP Ranger Suárez (4-3, 3.15) is expected to come off the injured list. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb Ken Powtak, The Associated Press