Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Dylan Cease threw four innings in a rehab start with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on Thursday, where he allowed five earned runs and threw 75 pitches.
The hard-throwing righty threw 50 of his 75 pitches for strikes, allowed six hits (two were home runs) and struck out six in the outing. His fast ball topped out at just under 99 miles per hour.
Cease landed on the injured list on May 25 with a left hamstring strain, one day after he was pulled in the middle of an outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters earlier in June that there was a chance Cease would only need one rehab start before he was able to rejoin the rotation.
The Blue Jays signed the 30-year-old Cease to the largest free-agent deal in franchise history this past off-season when they gave him a seven-year deal worth $210 million. Cease was delivering on that contract in a big way through 12 starts, as he owns a 3.05 earned-run average with 92 strikeouts (which led the American League at the time he was placed on the IL) over 62.0 innings.
Cease’s return would be a welcome sight for the Blue Jays as the team has already lost starting pitchers Jose Berrios (Tommy John surgery), Cody Ponce (ACL surgery) and Bowden Francis (Tommy John surgery) for the season, while Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer are each currently on the IL and do not have a set timeline for return.
The Blue Jays entered Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Braves at 29-33, third place in the AL East.
