The Padres shut out the Guardians 7-0 Saturday, boosted by a one-hit performance from starter Dylan Cease and the bullpen.
Cease added 10 strikeouts in the win, which followed the 7-0 loss to Cleveland that opened the series.
It was the second straight gem for Cease, who went seven innings to improve to 9-8. In a win last weekend over the Braves he pitched six innings, also giving up just one hit, and doing himself one better in strikeouts, with 11.
“I thought it was tremendous, A plus plus,” manager Mike Shildt said of his starter’s work, adding that Cease’s fastball “had serious bite to it,” accompanied by what he called “amazing” secondary pitches.
Jeremiah Estrada and Yuki Matsui backed Cease up with one inning each of scoreless relief, a breath of fresh air after the bullpen gave up six runs, wasting a strong outing by Matt Waldron, in Friday’s loss.
David Peralta and Jake Cronenworth, though, provided the power.
In the four-run eighth inning, when the Padres shut the door on the Guardians, Peralta led off the inning with a solo shot, and Ha-Seong Kim reached second base following an error by shortstop Daniel Schneemann and a wild pitch by Spencer Howard.
Luis Campusano promptly gave Cleveland reason to regret the miscues, as he singled to bring in Kim. After retiring Luis Arraez and Jurickson Profar, Howard almost limited the damage, but Cronenworth gave the Friars their second blast of the inning, sending the ball out to right field.
“Any time you add on late, any time you add on period, it’s important, it sets up your bullpen, gets deeper into their bullpen,” Shildt said.
Michael King takes the mound Sunday as the Padres try to take the series, before after an off day, moving on to Washington.
Note: photo credit, inset – Starter Dylan Cease (84) delivers a pitch to the plate during the seventh inning against the Cleveland Guardians on July 20, 2024, at Progressive Field in Cleveland (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)
