Less than 24 hours after Kevin Gausman set the franchise record for opening-day strikeouts, Dylan Cease picked up right where his Toronto Blue Jays teammate left off.

Cease punched out 12 hitters on Saturday against the Athletics, setting the Blue Jays record for most strikeouts in a pitcher’s debut with Toronto.

The previous mark belonged to David Price, who struck out 11 Minnesota Twins on Aug. 3, 2015, after being acquired at the trade deadline.

Among the other leaders are Shane Bieber (2025), Rogers Clemens (1997), Trey Yesavage (2025) and Steven Matz (2021), who all recorded nine strikeouts in their first Blue Jays starts.

It wasn’t the only franchise mark that Cease reached. The right-hander tied Alek Manoah for most consecutive strikeouts in a single start, when he sat down seven consecutive hitters between the third and fifth innings.

Saturday marked Cease’s first regular-season outing with Toronto after joining the team on a seven-year, $210-million deal in the off-season. It was the largest free-agent contract ever handed out by the Blue Jays.

The 30-year-old spent 2025 with the San Diego Padres, posting a 4.55 ERA and 215 strikeouts over 168 innings.

Cease exited Saturday’s game after 5.1 innings of one-run ball, having allowed just three hits and two walks. He was replaced by Braydon Fisher with one out and runners on the corners.

Andrés Giménez helped Fisher escape the jam by starting a double play after an impressive spinning stop at short.