Cease's back-to-back dominance unmatched in Padres history

CLEVELAND -- On the very last day of camp in Peoria, Ariz., the Padres swung a stunner of a trade to acquire Dylan Cease. Why then? Why a blockbuster deal in late March?

Frankly, because it couldn't wait.

In a rotation filled with question marks, the Padres needed a pitcher like Cease -- a pitcher with a track record of taking the ball every fifth day, a pitcher they could rely upon to stop a losing streak. A pitcher who, when he's at his best, can dominate hitters like few others in baseball.

That’s precisely what Cease has done the last two times he has taken the mound. Just when the Padres have needed it, too. A week ago against Atlanta, the Padres rode a five-game losing streak into his start. On Saturday night in Cleveland, they were in jeopardy of falling below .500 for the first time in more than a month.

On both occasions, Cease delivered. He struck out 10 Guardians on Saturday across seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball as the Padres cruised to a 7-0 victory at Progressive Field. After he was similarly dominant last weekend, it marked the first time in franchise history a starter had punched out 10 while allowing no runs and one hit or fewer in consecutive starts.

In fact, Cease joined only Randy Johnson (2001), Max Scherzer ('15) and Mike Clevinger ('19) in recording consecutive such outings in the divisional era (since 1969). On top of that, Cease did so against two teams that appear postseason-bound, with two of the better offenses in the sport.

“It says he’s a pretty dominant, top-of-the rotation kind of guy,” manager Mike Shildt said, “a guy that can help you when you get to the playoffs.”

That, right there, is why the Padres traded four players to the White Sox to land Cease on the eve of their season.

Of course, it hasn’t always been smooth. Cease was dominant at the start, but he posted a nine-start stretch from late May to early July in which he recorded a 6.32 ERA. In the aftermath of those struggles, he made a subtle tweak, moving his glove closer to his body to better disguise his pitches.

And he has been Dominant Dylan Cease ever since.

“I’m always trying to do that,” Cease said. “Sometimes you go through stretches where you just kind of have to battle and keep working through it. Those aren’t very fun. But when you get to the other side of it, it’s a fun, pleasant experience.

“But, ultimately, we still have a long way to go. I’m not hanging my hat on these. I want more.”

The Padres need more, too. Joe Musgrove is still working his way back from right elbow inflammation, and it’s unclear what to expect when he returns. Even less clear is the status of Yu Darvish, who was placed on the restricted list earlier this month, with his absence labeled as “indefinite.”

No doubt, Michael King and Matt Waldron have stabilized the rotation alongside Cease. But King and Waldron are also full-time big league starters for the first time this year.

Cease, meanwhile, has made every start in five straight seasons. He leads the Majors with 159 strikeouts this year, and he has turned in five starts with at least six innings and only one hit -- two more than anybody else. On Saturday, Tyler Freeman’s third-inning triple and Andrés Giménez’s fifth-inning walk were the only blemishes.

“I mean, 96-99 [mph], top of the zone, bottom of the zone, slider, curveball, hitting corners -- I don't know if we got anything outside of that pitch to [Freeman] over the plate to hit,” said Guardians manager Steven Vogt. “He was some kind of special tonight, and it showed. We had a hard time getting anything going, and he just dominated us.”

In the meantime, the Padres’ offense finally broke out after a recent funk. They scored three times in the fourth inning, chasing Cleveland starter Gavin Williams, and then tacked on four in the eighth with homers from David Peralta and Jake Cronenworth.

A night after they were shut out, 7-0, the Padres returned the favor -- the first time in franchise history they’d been shut out by at least seven runs, only to shut out that opponent by seven-plus runs in the next game.

“Great bounce-back from last night,” Cronenworth said. “Come out tonight and grind a good pitcher down, have some good at-bats, scrape some runs across early and extend it late -- that’s exactly what we want.”