The National Baseball Hall of Fame has memorabilia from Dylan Cease’s July 25 no-hitter. The Padres presented him with a huge framed collage containing a copy of the Union-Tribune sports section and the scorecard from that day. The highlight video shown before every game at Petco Park includes the radio call from the end of the game.
But what Cease did in Wednesday’s 4-0 win over the Astros – with another team’s ace on the mound and in the midst of the playoff race – was arguably his masterpiece.
“This one is way up there,” Cease said. “I mean, the no-hitter and the near-no-hitter and this one are probably in the top three.”
Well, OK. But Wednesday could almost certainly have been considered the best game ever if shortstop Xander Bogaerts hadn’t hit a couple of grounders in the ninth inning.
“I think that’s fair,” manager Mike Shildt said of the idea that Cease was as good Wednesday as he was two months ago when he held the Nationals hitless. “I mean, that’s hard to say, isn’t it? I mean, he throws a no-hitter and to say he was better — but you know, Dylan Cease is a pretty special talent.”
Cease allowed two hits in 8⅓ innings, and Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Donovan Solano helped Cease and the Padres emerge victorious by hitting three consecutive home runs in the eighth inning.
The victory secured the Padres a series win over the American League West leaders and keeps them 2½ games ahead of the Diamondbacks in the race for the National League’s top wild-card spot.
Only one of the Padres’ home runs was necessary.
Machado’s sixth-inning hit against Framber Valdez, who entered the game with the third-lowest ERA (2.91) in the American League and the seventh-lowest batting average (.215) among all qualified starting pitchers, gave the Padres a 1-0 lead.
That was all the Padres scored in seven innings against Valdez before hitting two bombs into the seats behind left field against reliever Kaleb Ort early in the eighth inning.
Many at the sold-out Petco Park gave Cease a standing ovation when he left the field after the eighth inning, again when he took the mound at the start of the ninth inning and finally when he left the field after Bogaerts’ error on what appeared to be a game-winning double play.
It would have been the fourth shutout of Cease’s career, coming just one run away from a no-hitter with the White Sox in September 2022. He allowed two walks in that game and three in his no-hitter.
Mauricio Dubón reached base early in the ninth inning on Wednesday with an infield single that Bogaerts botched on a quick throw. Cease followed with a strikeout of Jake Meyers before Jose Altuve hit a grounder that bounced off Bogaerts’ glove.
That led to Shildt coming out and replacing Cease with Tanner Scott, who struck out the next two batters.
“I really wanted to finish it,” Cease said. “It’s just part of the game. I wish I had made Dubón a better offer.”
Games in which a pitcher is two outs away from a shutout don’t have their own Wikipedia entry. But what made Wednesday special was that Cease neutralized the Astros, the AL’s best hitting team. They entered the game with a team average of .261 and three of their first four batters had a batting average of .297 or better.
“He pitched well and hit everything,” Dubón said. “It was his night. He’s a good pitcher. We battled and Framber gave us a chance to win, and it’s a tough matchup.”
Cease didn’t allow a single hit until Jason Heyward’s grounder through the right side to start the sixth inning. He didn’t walk a single batter and struck out five batters.
The 28-year-old right-hander threw more than 11 pitches in just three innings and never more than 15.
After eight innings, he had already faced 92 pitches, and no one was warming up as the long half of the Padres’ eighth inning unfolded.
When a pitcher stays in the game for a long time, it’s normal to acknowledge that he saved the bullpen.
This time, Cease’s efforts were worth more than just a nod.
Especially on a day when the lead was so small going into the final inning, the Padres needed a starting pitcher to hit a home run.
The Padres’ top relievers have been working hard, but two of them – Jason Adam and Robert Suarez, who both pitched the last three days – would not play on Wednesday.
All in all, it was, if not his best start, then at least one of his.
“In terms of execution,” Cease said, “this one was probably better.”
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