TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays have placed starting pitcher Dylan Cease on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider updated Cease’s status on Monday, hours before the Blue Jays started a three-game series with the Miami Marlins.
Cease left the Blue Jays’ 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. Slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left in the bottom of the inning with a right elbow contusion after he was hit with a pitch.
Guerrero was not in the starting lineup for Monday’s game.
Cease has a 3-3 record with a 3.05 ERA so far in his first season with Toronto after signing a $210 million, seven-year contract.
Earlier Monday, Toronto reinstated outfielder Nathan Lukes from the 10-day injured list and made him available for the series opener against the Marlins.
Lukes had been out since April 24 with a left hamstring strain.
He recently played two games with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays, going 2 for 3 with one home run, three runs batted in and two walks.
Lukes is batting .250 with eight RBIs with Toronto this season.
Toronto optioned infielder/outfielder Davis Schneider to Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move.
The Blue Jays entered Monday’s game in third place in the American League East with a 25-28 record.
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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease reacts after giving up the second solo home run of the game during the second inning of an baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Toronto on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease (84) throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Toronto on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (Frank Gunn /The Canadian Press via AP)
Authorities scrambling to find a safe resolution after a tank containing a hazardous chemical was damaged at a Southern California aerospace plant believe the risk of a catastrophic explosion has been eliminated, though an evacuation order affecting tens of thousands of residents remains in place.
The storage tank at GKN Aerospace containing about 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (23,000 to 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate overheated last week in Garden Grove, a city in Orange County.
Officials have said the tank vented vapors as pressure and temperatures rose, but that monitoring has not detected hazardous chemical levels in the atmosphere. No injuries have been reported, but more than 50,000 nearby residents were ordered to evacuate their homes over the Memorial Day weekend.
While officials said Monday that an overnight inspection confirmed a crack in the tank relieved pressure and cooled the chemical, the risk to public safety continued.
After the tank overheated Thursday, firefighters repeatedly sprayed it with water in an attempt to cool the chemical inside. Officials said Sunday that a crack that developed in the tank could lower the risk of an explosion.
Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey said a team that evaluated the tank overnight concluded that the temperature inside had dropped and pressure had been released. He called this “incredibly positive news.”
The tank’s interior reached 100 degrees (37.7 Celsius) Sunday, an increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) since Saturday, according to Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg. On Monday, Covey said the temperature fell to 93 degrees F (33.9 degrees C).
Methyl methacrylate is a flammable, colorless liquid used in the production of resins, plastics and plastic dentures and is regulated by the federal government.
It can irritate the lungs, eyes and skin and in high doses can cause reduced lung function, along with dizziness and memory problems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
In prolonged cases, exposure to methyl methacrylate can cause serious respiratory problems or render a person unconscious.
Tests have found that air pollution in the evacuation zone is within normal limits.
Officials have said the valves on the tank are broken or “gummed up,” which prevented crews from removing the chemical or relieving the pressure on the tank.
The facility specializes in the production of aircraft transparency systems, including cockpit windows, canopies and windshields. British company GKN Aerospace says on its website that its products are used by major commercial and military aircraft manufacturers worldwide.
The company apologized Monday for the “ongoing disruption this incident is causing,” saying in a statement that its specialists and the Orange County Fire Authority had removed external insulation material from the tank to help cool its contents.
If the temperature inside the tank climbed high enough, it would have caused pressure to build as the methyl methacrylate converted from a liquid to a gas, increasing the risk of explosion and possibly igniting other tanks.
A blast would release the chemical to a wider area and could create vapors that would be hazardous to inhale, according to Orange County's top health officer, Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong.
Aerial photos taken by The Associated Press showed streets in the area were empty Sunday. Several evacuation shelters were open.
The evacuation zone is west of Anaheim, home to Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders. Chinsio-Kwong said people outside the evacuation zone don't need to worry about health impacts.
Associated Press reporter Leah Willingham contributed to this report.
An American Red Cross volunteer walks outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif.,on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
People tend to their pets outside Freedom Hall, an evacuation center in Fountain Valley, Calif., on Monday, May 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Evacuees gather their pets and belongings at the John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
The streets remain empty in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after a storage tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday at an aerospace plastics facility. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
An evacuee gather their pets and belongings at the John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey speaks during a news conference at the Los Alamitos racetrack in Cypress, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026, about hazmat situation in Garden Grove, Calif. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)
Firefighters work at the scene of a chemical tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Oscar Bello, who evacuated Anaheim with his pets, shows them off at the John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is sprayed on a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
