Cease did not factor into Friday's game against the Cardinals, allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out seven across six innings.
It was another strong outing from Cease, whose lone blemish came in the fifth inning on an RBI single from Jordan Walker, though the former avoided the loss after the Blue Jays tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth. Cease has logged at least seven strikeouts in 14 consecutive starts and finished Friday's outing with 18 whiffs and 57 strikes on 96 pitches. The American League Cy Young candidate is up to 174 strikeouts this season, which is second-most in the majors behind Jacob Misiorowski (185). Cease will take a 2.41 ERA and 1.08 WHIP across 119.1 innings into his next start, which is lined up for next week on the road against the Astros.