This Saturday afternoon, Chicago White Sox fans were able to witness a more than solid pitching performance by Dylan Cease. The White Sox need all of the help that they can get with their pitching and Cease’s day on Saturday proved that they can rely on him.
Cease walked away with a victory and has now gone 9-0 versus the Detroit Tigers in his career. There is just something about the Tigers that get’s him going and pushes him to win. Maybe it’s luck but his domination of the Tigers has been and will be vital to this season.
Stat-wise, Cease had a great day. He pitched 5 innings allowing two hits and one run. He had one earned run and walked three batters while striking out eight. Cease’s ERA was 1.80 and he faced 20 batters total.
He did get into a jam with some of his walks but he was able to get out of it. With the shortened spring training period, pitchers haven’t quite found their rhythm and may not be ready to go that long in a game so Cease was done after five.
The Chicago White Sox are hoping that Dylan Cease can pitch like that all year.
As the season goes on, pitchers will be able to go longer and make a bigger impact in games. This means that teams are going to have to rely on their bullpens much more and lucky for Cease and the Sox, theirs didn’t let them down today.
With the news that Lucas Giolito will be out for about two starts and Lance Lynn out until mid-May with a knee injury, Cease has become even more important. He now becomes the ace on the staff and the guy that they will really count on.
It’s a long season and it’s only one game but Cease is starting off great. As mentioned, the White Sox need all the help that they can get out of their abbreviated starting rotation, and with Cease’s play Saturday, they know that they can rely on him.
Once Giolito and Lynn get back and if guys like Vince Velazquez, Michael Kopech, and even Dallas Keuchel can play well, this could be one of the most dangerous pitching rotations in the league. Couple that with the big bats they have and this team could easily win the AL Central.