Blue Jays mysteriously pull Kevin Gausman from start after five no-hit innings

Update 4:33 pm ET: Per the Blue Jays, Gausman was removed from this afternoon's contest with lower back tightness.

Update 4:18 pm ET: Josh Smith recorded a single on the first pitch Genesis Cabrera threw in the bottom of the seventh inning. No-hitter over. No update provided on Gausman.

The Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers are squaring off in an early-afternoon matchup on Thursday. The two clubs have nearly identical win-loss records this year and have both fallen well below their preseason expectations.

Taking the mound for the 72-80 Blue Jays is right-hander Kevin Gausman, who was widely expected to be the club's ace before the regular season began. The veteran has pitched well, but hasn't quite been the clear cut leader of the pitching staff like he was initially supposed to be.

During Thursday's game, Gausman looked every bit the ace he's expected to be. He threw 58 pitches (38 of them for strikes), walked one batter and did not allow a single base hit through five innings of work.

Then the bottom of the sixth came and the recently recalled Dillon Tate entered the game for the Blue Jays. Gausman's day is done after just five innings and an unusually low pitch count. To Tate's credit, he entered the game and breezed through the Rangers with 12 pitches that resulted in two strikeouts.

For now, the no-hitter is still intact. However, followers of the Blue Jays need to hold their collective breaths while they await word on why exactly Gausman was lifted during what has been a historical performance so far.