Dylan Cease shut down the Mariners

Yesterday, my colleague Sébastien Berrouard described the Blue Jays' road trip through the American West as pivotal.

John Schneider's team got the message and capitalized on an excellent performance by Dylan Cease to win the first of nine road games. The right-hander pitched seven strong innings against the Mariners in Seattle on Friday night.

The Toronto Blue Jays won 2-0.

This win didn't allow the Jays to gain ground in the division race, as every team in the American League East secured a victory yesterday. The Tampa Bay Rays, the division leaders, notched their ninth straight win.

The Toronto team needed just two runs to defeat the Mariners, who are locked in a fierce battle with the Texas Rangers for sole possession of first place in the American League West. Cease, Jeff Hoffman, and Louis Varland combined their efforts to get this important road trip off to a strong start.

The Jays' starter allowed just three hits while striking out nine batters, while Hoffman added two strikeouts to his tally by pitching an uneventful eighth inning. John Schneider's new go-to reliever, Louis Varland, closed out the game in the ninth, earning his 18th save of the season in the process.

Unusual fact: Randy Arozarena used up both of his team's video challenges in the very first inning by challenging two pitches from Cease that the home plate umpire had called strikes. In both cases, he struck out. His manager, Dan Wilson, certainly didn't appreciate the situation involving his outfielder.

On offense, the Jays didn't set the world on fire either, managing just six hits against the Mariners' pitchers. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Andrés Giménez drove in the visitors' runs at T-Mobile Park.

Sean Keys, who served as the designated hitter yesterday, had two hits in four at-bats.

Mariners starter Luis Castillo allowed the Blue Jays to score all their runs, enabling them to snatch a last-minute victory—their 42nd of the season.

The Jays' problem this season has been their inability to string together multiple wins and build momentum. As they play back-to-back games in Seattle, San Francisco, and San Diego, let's hope the team can capitalize on the fact that they're playing with less pressure than when in front of their home fans.

The performance of the pitching trio deployed by John Schneider yesterday, combined with the offense's opportunism, bodes well as we enter early July—a pivotal moment in the season, if ever there was one.

Today and tomorrow, the Jays' hitters will face two seasoned pitchers in Logan Gilbert and George Kirby. Neither pitcher is currently at the peak of his career, but they have enough experience to take advantage of these home games.

Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage, meanwhile, will try to follow in Dylan Cease's footsteps by leading their team to victory.

• Mike Trout is making progress.

• Two big defensive plays.

• Spencer Jones in the AAA.

• That can't be easy to do.

• Aroldis Chapman holds the all-time record for the most strikeouts by a relief pitcher in history.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.