His last time out, Dylan Cease prevented the Minnesota Twins from stealing back a split with seven shutout innings in an 11-0 romp that ended the first half.
This time out, Cease threw six shutout innings to help the Sox salvage a four-game weekend against the Guardians.
The White Sox again provided early run support with a surprising five-spot in the second off Shane Bieber, and thanks to another All-Star-caliber outing from Cease, that turned out to be all they needed en route to a soothing split.
In terms of peripherals, both pitchers were just about equally matched:
- Cease: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 4 K
- Bieber: 6 IP, 8 H, 1 BB, 4 K
But while Cease kept the ball in the park and scattered his hits across the afternoon, Bieber allowed three homers, including two in a five-hit, five-run second inning that dug him too deep a hole.
Two of Tony La Russa's most controversial lineup decisions provided the shock. Leury García opened the scoring by jumping on a 3- 1 fastball and hoisting it just over the wall in right for a two-run shot that put the game's first runs on the board with one out in the second.
Adam Engel turned over the lineup with a single, and Tim Anderson followed with a base hit of his own. After Yoán Moncada moved both runners up, AJ Pollock came to the plate in the third spot, which didn't seem like the best use of that position ... until Bieber hung a first-pitch slider, and Pollock whipped it out to left for a shocking 5-0 lead.
The Sox only had two other hits off Bieber the rest of the way, but one of them was an Eloy Jiménez solo shot that made it a 6-0 game in the sixth.
Cease had to navigate some RISP trouble in each of the first three innings, including a first-and-third situation in the third inning after a Josh Naylor infield single. But then he got Franmil Reyes to ground into a well-turned 5-4-3 double play, and the rest of his afternoon was comparatively easier. His biggest issue was a line drive off his leg with two outs in the fifth, but he threw one test pitch, then one more pitch for a groundout that made the game official.
The Guardians did put a couple balls over the fence, but they were inconsequential. Reyes took Kendall Graveman deep for a two-run shot, but that merely made it a 6-2 game, and Graveman struck out the side.
In the ninth, Liam Hendriks gave up a solo shot to Steven Kwan that a natural right fielder probably would've robbed, as it had enough hang time and little enough carry for an easy setup. Unfortunately, Gavin Sheets was out there, and neither his timing nor alignment were there to get the job done.
Bullet points:
*Cease is now 10-4 with a 2.03 ERA.
*The Sox are at .500 for the 17th time this season.
