Padres' Dylan Cease Felt Weight Lifted Off His Shoulders in Dominant Outing vs Giants

Cease put together his best start since July on Friday.

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San Diego Padres starter Dylan Cease threw 10 strikeouts Friday in his first dominant at the mound since July. With these 10 strikeouts, Cease has passed a new career milestone — 1,000 strikeouts.

Cease, who now has thrown a total of 1,007 career strikeouts, also gave up four hits, zero earned runs, and walked two over six innings pitched in Friday's 5-0 shutout win over the San Francisco Giants.

For Cease, this start was much-needed after his recent outings have not gone his way.

“I feel like I haven’t contributed in like a month," Cease said Friday, via MLB.com's AJ Cassavell. So, felt nice to contribute.”

Over his last six starts before Friday against the Giants, Cease has given up at least three runs and two earned runs each time. He went 1-3 during these starts and gave up at least six hits in four of those six starts.

This was a stark difference from Cease's previous four full starts before that. During that run of four starts, Cease gave up just one earned run, five hits, pitched a no-hitter, and struck out 36.

That level of pitching is what Cease is capable of at his best, and what he showed again on Friday. It's also why the Padres surprisingly traded for him right before their trip to Seoul, South Korea for the team's opening series.

“When I’m in the zone with my good stuff, usually good things happen,” Cease said, via Cassavell. “Today was just an example of that.”

Seeing Cease pitching his 'good stuff' again is crucial for the Padres as they approach the postseason. Cease can be great, but he has moments of inconsistency as well. Overall this season, he is 13-11 with a 3.58 ERA, while also leading MLB with 215 strikeouts.

The Padres regained their lead in the National League wildcard standings, but there is a tight race among the Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves. The Padres hold the best record at 83-65 among these four contenders, making every win critical so they retain their spot.

This start is also key for Cease to have momentum at the mound going into the Padres' likely playoff run. The Padres lineup can come to play at nearly every point, but strong pitching will make it a lot easier for the team to advance come October.