Cease takes positive first step toward claiming Chicago White Sox's No. 4 spot
Lucas Giolito is No. 1.
That's not a big surprise, but White Sox manager Tony La Russa made it official before Monday's Cactus League game against the Cubs: Giolito will be the Opening Day starter for the second year in a row when the upcoming season opens on the road against the Angels April 1.
"I feel like I've earned this spot over the last couple years," Giolito said. "We'll forget about (20)18, but we'll talk about what I built in '19 and '20, for sure. I think I've proven I'm one of the top starters in this league."
Dallas Keuchel and Lance Lynn follow Giolito in the Sox's rotation, and Dylan Cease took a strong first step toward claiming the No. 4 job Monday.
In a 4-4 tie against the Cubs at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, Cease was sharp in his first exhibition start.
The 25-year-old righty allowed 1 single over 3 scoreless inning to go with 2 strikeouts and - most important - no walks.
"I think that's a good first start," Cease said. "There are always things that can be improved and worked, on but I threw my stuff in the zone, no walks, made them put it in play, so I'm happy with that."
In the first of two spring meetings, the White Sox took the lead over the Cubs on Eloy Jimenez's 2-run single off Alec Mills in the first inning. Jimenez made it a 3-0 game with an RBI single in the third.
The Cubs tied it on Jake Marisnick's run-scoring single and David Bote's RBI double in the fourth inning and Alfonso Rivas' run-scoring single in the seventh.
After Jose Abreu put the Sox ahead with an RBI single in the seventh inning, Patrick Wisdom's home run off closer Liam Hendriks in the ninth ended the game in a tie.
White Sox center fielder Luis Robert was scratched before the game with a lower abdominal strain.
Cease has a front-end arm, but he's been erratic since joining the Sox's starting five in July 2019. Ranking second in the majors with 34 walks last season, he has made some mechanical adjustments and the results are showing.
Staying closed in his delivery is the main alteration.
"I put in a lot of work into my mechanics this offseason," Cease said. "(Pitching coach) Ethan (Katz) gave me a bunch of drills, so right now I feel like it's a lot easier for me to get to a rhythm and it's way more effortless for me to throw strikes, which is the name of the game."
Winning the No. 4 spot is the goal, and Cease has two more weeks to show he can handle the job.
"That's not something I think of too often," said Cease, who was 5-4 with a 4.01 ERA last season. "Right now, it's pretty much just continue to try to get myself as sharp as I can be. I want to be a valuable member of the team. I know that starts with me throwing strikes and getting ahead of guys. That's my main focus, but, yeah, I definitely want to earn that spot and that's my intention."