Cease’s near no-hitter, Jones’ perfect bid cut short, Ober set for return

Dylan Cease carried a no-hitter into the ninth against the Giants before Heliot Ramos’ leadoff single broke it; Cease had previously no-hit for the Padres in 2024, and Arraez—who once broke up Cease’s no-no in 2022—was in the lineup during the bid. Pirates rookie Jared Jones wrote six perfect innings against the Braves but was pulled for workload reasons after elbow surgery; a single by Mason Montgomery ended the perfect game in the seventh. Bailey Ober is set to return from elbow inflammation to start vs. the Guardians, likely shifting Marco Raya to long relief; Ober’s recent arc includes a May CG shutout followed by rougher starts, with his fastball velocity around 88 mph.