Blue Jays Lose Dylan Cease Mid-Game After Injury Against Pirates

For a team that has been dealing with injuries in its starting rotation all season, the Toronto Blue Jays may be dealing with one they can’t recover from.

Blue Jays ace Dylan Cease left Sunday’s game with the Pittsburgh Pirates with an apparent injury after the training staff came out to visit him after one out in the fifth inning. He fell earlier in the game but stayed in the contest.

Toronto updated reporters at the game saying that Cease left the game with mild left hamstring discomfort.

Dylan Cease Dealing With Injury

Dylan Cease left his Saturday start in the fifth inning due to mild left hamstring discomfort, per Blue Jays. He was first visited by a Blue Jays trainer following the below pitch.

Cease leads MLB with 185 games started since 2020 and is sixth with 1,004.1 innings pitched pic.twitter.com/GXv2QdjZ3W
— Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) May 24, 2026

Cease was credited with 4.2 innings of work on Sunday, as he allowed four hits and two earned runs. He struck out eight and walked one. Toronto was down 2-1 at the time he left the game. Mason Fluharty came on to replace Cease.

The right-hander, who was signed to a seven-year contract in the offseason, has been a rock for the Blue Jays along with opening-day starter Kevin Gausman. Pending the result of Sunday’s game, he is 3-2 with a 3.05 ERA in 11 starts, with 92 strikeout and 26 walks in 62 innings. Toronto was counting on a bit more coverage from him on Sunday as they were seeking a sweep of the Pirates.

Cease had previously pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 2019-23 and for the San Diego Padres from 2024-25. He was a Cy Young finalist one year with the White Sox and won at least 13 games in three separate seasons. He entered free agency coming off an 8-12 season with the Padres and an inflated 4.55 ERA. But it didn’t keep Toronto from making him a long-term deal.

An injury to the starting rotation is par for the course this season for the Blue Jays, who entered the campaign with one of the deepest rotations in baseball as they were attempting to get back to the World Series for the second straight season. They fell in seven games to the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year’s Fall Classic.

Toronto has right-hander Max Scherzer on the 15-day injured list with right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. He has thrown bullpens this week but is not ready for rehab starts. Right-hander Shane Bieber is preparing to start a rehab assignment with the Blue Jays’ Florida Complex League team per MLB.com. He is on the 60-day IL with right elbow inflammation.

The Blue Jays have lost Jose Berrios for the season after elbow surgery last week while Cody Ponce is expected to miss most, if not all, of the season after surgery for a sprained ACL.

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