Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Brett Cecil took a perfect game into the seventh inning and Jose Bautista hit a two-run homer, as the Toronto Blue Jays earned a 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
Blue Jays’ Cecil Flirts With Perfect Game In 5-1 Win Over Indians
The 23-year-old Cecil (2-1), who was making only this third start of the season, allowed a pair of walks and a two-out, run-scoring single to Jhonny Peralta in the seventh. Cecil added 10 strikeouts to his ledger over eight frames and has now given up only two earned runs in three career starts -- 21 innings -- against Cleveland.
Travis Snider and John Buck added solo homers, while Vernon Wells had an RBI single for the Blue Jays, who have won four of their last five.
Grady Sizemore had the only other hit -- a single -- to go along with a run scored for Cleveland, which has dropped two straight and six of eight overall. Mitch Talbot (3-2) suffered the loss after yielding eight hits and five runs over eight-plus innings of work. The right-hander also walked four and struck out five.
Cecil entered the seventh without allowing a base runner, but after retiring Asdrubal Cabrera on a tapped ball back to the mound, the left-hander walked Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo. Then following an Austin Kearns groundout, Peralta broke up the no-hit bid when he lined a 2-2 fastball to left that scored a run. Travis Hafner went down on strikes to end the inning.
Cecil threw a perfect eighth inning and Buck’s leadoff homer to right-center in the top of the ninth made it a 5-1 game.
In the bottom half, Kevin Gregg took over for Cecil and issued a single to Sizemore with one away and a walk to Kearns two batters later. Peralta then fanned to end the game.
Toronto posted three runs over the second and third innings to grab the early lead. Alex Gonzalez reached with a one-out single in the second before Bautista cleared the left-field wall with his fifth homer of the season. Then in the third, Aaron Hill led off the inning with a double and crossed the plate two batters later when Wells singled up the middle to make it 3-0.
Snider lined a 2-0 slider into the right-field seats with one out in the fourth to give the Blue Jays a four-run cushion.
Dave Stieb is the only Blue Jays pitcher to throw a no-hitter, coming on September 2, 1990...Toronto split its eight meetings with the Tribe a year ago...Hill and Snider each finished with two hits...Cecil lowered his ERA to 2.61 this season...Toronto stranded six base runners, while Cleveland left four.
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