Whenever a ballplayer throws a no-hitter — the kind of complete game, not a bunch of assists — I feel obligated to look at his next start to see how he follows it up. I’m cheating a little bit tonight as the Rays visit the Blue Jays, as Dylan Cease didn’t pitch into the ninth inning before the loss. But he’s been riding, and Tampa Bay hasn’t. First pitch from Toronto’s Rogers Center is set for 7:07 pm ET.
Rays-Blue Jays MLB matchup
- Toronto’s money line
- Alt Under 9.5
DraftKings SGP Price: +114
In his most recent start, on July 8 in San Francisco, Cease was hitless going into the bottom of the ninth. I was interested to see if Manager John Schneider would let him finish the game, as he threw a lot of pitches. The score went down when Heliot Ramos of the Giants led off the inning with a line-drive single up the middle. Cease was pulled immediately, after a career-high 118 pitches, 81 of which were strikes. It was great fun for Giants fans to cheer him on (pictured).
Cease became the AL Cy Young favorite in other books after that (as well as Kalshi), and as of Sunday at DraftKings he was the favorite along with the Yankees’ Cam Schlittler at +130. But Schlittler hit Sunday and wasn’t great in the Dodgers loss, so Cease nore at +130 and Schlittler at +140.
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Now, I might be concerned about the high volume of Leave it under normal circumstances, but so much time has passed that I don’t think it’s a concern. Cease also entered the All-Star Game last Tuesday, getting the American League win after striking out three in the first inning. He looked very sharp to me.
Cease also threw seven shutout innings in his Seattle start before facing the Giants. I’ve followed Cease pretty much his whole career, because he was once a respected player for the Cubs, before being dealt to the White Sox. A 30-year-old, if there is one, is as good as anyone. But sometimes his focus slips on anything and goes wrong. We should know out loud first thing in the evening which boy we’re getting. If Cease walks Tampa Bay’s best batter, that’s not good.
Cease is 1-3 at home in nine starts, though he has a 2.82 ERA at home and has gotten long run support. Giving up a no-hitter against the visiting Rays on May 13, allowing a run and three hits on seven hits in a game Toronto would eventually win in extra innings. SportsLine Projection Model Predictions Will end in 5.5 innings, 7.3 strikeouts, 5.1 hits allowed and 2.5 earned runs. On DraftKings, he’s +140 to win and set at Over/Under 7.5 Ks.
It’s pretty cool now that the defending AL champions have made a wild card move, sitting seven games under .500 and 4.5 games out of last place in the Junior Circuit but there are a few other teams ahead of them. The schedule gets tougher after this series — not that the AL East-leading Rays aren’t good, but they’re 21-27 on the road. The model gives Toronto a 12.0% shot at the playoffs, while DK rates the team at +350, which equates to 22.2%. I don’t see it.
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Tampa Bay leads the division by 1.5 games over the Yankees but is a +130 second favorite with New York at +100 and that is the amount of money the Yankees are talking about. Do I think the Rays win their first World Series? No … but I might change my tune if they get Tarik Skubal. And with new ownership trying to build a stadium in Tampa, it sounds like they’re willing to spend to get help at the Aug. trade deadline. 3. That’s something previous Rays owners rarely do. I hope they do it for selfish reasons so I can go see the White Sox-Rays playoff game at the Trop.
It’s All-Star Nick Martinez’s (8-2, 2.65 ERA) first time on the mound for Tampa Bay. I keep waiting for the 35-year-old shortstop to come back to Earth — he lost 14 games last year with a 4.45 ERA with Cincinnati — but he hasn’t. He has been one of the most profitable starters in the majors at +$948 (Tampa Bay is 14-4 in his starts).
Martinez threw a scoreless inning in last week’s All-Star Game and has faced the Jays once this season, allowing one of five runs in a home win on May 4. Toronto leadoff hitter George Springer has gone 6 for 17, with two homers. Overall, Martinez is 2-2 with a 5.83 ERA in 29.1 innings vs. Blue Jays. Model has four in 6.1 innings, 3.6 strikeouts, 5.7 hits allowed and 2.4 earned runs.
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The Rays have lost a season-high five games, their longest streak since April 2025. Tampa Bay was one of eight major league teams without a losing streak of five or more games this season. It has also lost six in a row on the road. This certainly looks like a potential pirate duel. Check out more expert picks in SportsLine’s daily newsletter.
