Cease sizzles, White Sox offense fizzles in 4-0 loss to Mets
It was a great day for Dylan Cease.
"I think that was my best start so far," he said. "My stuff was good and I think it was the best I've commanded this year. I just simplified. Head on the target, be aggressive. Don't overthink it and just commit to the pitch. It was solid."
For the Chicago White Sox's offense, it was another day down in the dumps Thursday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Making his fifth start since coming up from Class AAA Charlotte, Cease pitched 7 innings for the first time and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits and 2 walks. The 23-year-old righty also had 6 strikeouts.
Those are winning numbers, but Sox bats were missing in action once again in a 4-0 interleague loss to the Mets.
While getting swept by New York in the three-game series, the White Sox scored 4 total runs.
They are 4-16 since the all-star break and are averaging 2.8 runs per game over that stretch.
"I try to make sure that they don't get themselves down," Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "I do. There are many ways of doing it. I try not to make it too formal of a meeting, but just to make sure they continue to grind and push and know that not one man can carry a club.
"It's got to be everybody. I think sometimes you lose sight of that. Sometimes individuals try to carry so much of the burden that it's kind of a spiraling affect in the negative way because then everybody's trying to do too much."
Wrapping up a 2-8 homestand, Cease was the lone positive.
"I think today, in spite of the one particular inning, you are seeing his stuff," Renteria said. "It's real. He's getting some punchouts. He's freezing some guys. And he's understanding a lot of aspects, controlling the running game, how to slide step, executing.
"All those things are still a part of development. He's got the stuff to be an elite major-league pitcher."
Avoiding the big inning has been a big problem for Cease since joining the White Sox's rotation on July 3.
The Mets did push 3 runs across in the sixth, but one of them was unearned thanks to an error by Sox catcher Welington Castillo.
As he finishes up the final two months of the season, Cease will look to continue improving and get ready to shoot for elite status in 2020.
"It's getting closer," he said. "There are a lot of positives out of this one. It's just staying as focused and locked in as I can. Finding that fine line of not overthinking, not overdoing. Just being aggressive, committing to a pitch and executing that pitch."