Padres’ Dylan Cease pulls off dominant Coors Field first

So how did Dylan Cease manage to find success at Coors Field? Sure, the Rockies do not have the best offense in baseball but pitching in Colorado has given plenty of pitchers nightmares over the years. Cease, who previously pitched for the Chicago White Sox before getting traded to the Padres in spring training, addressed his approach following San Diego’s 3-1 victory.

“You just got to go into it knowing how your stuff might play differently,” Cease said, via 97.3 The Fan. “At the end of the day, if you’re not willing to go in and attack you’re not going to win. I’m aware of how my stuff plays and I just had to figure out where to start some pitches. Other than that, got really locked in and it was a great game.”

Padres manager Mike Shildt referred to Cease’s outing as “dominant.”

“It’s the best one (start at Coors Field) I’ve seen,” Shildt said. “I’ve seen some good ones actually. But that was dominant. That was impressive. That was outstanding, you know, seven strong innings… What an impressive performance. In control the whole time.”

Dylan Cease already making big impact for Padres

Cease, 28, ultimately recorded eight strikeouts across seven innings of one-run baseball on Monday. Command has been an issue in the past for Cease, so the fact that he did not walk any batters is a positive sign to say the least.

There were questions about how Cease would handle the trade, as immediately finding success with a new team can prove to be a challenge. For Cease, though, the transition has seemingly caused no problems thus far.

Cease has pitched to a stellar 1.82 ERA and 0.742 WHIP across five starts (29.2 innings) to begin his Padres career. He’s already struck out 35 hitters as well, and has only walked 11 batters.

Perhaps all Cease needed was a change-of-scenery. Following his excellent 2022 campaign with the White Sox, Cease struggled throughout the 2023 season. He still ended up with no shortage of strikeouts, but he also walked far too many hitters and endured trouble in terms of limiting hits and runs.

Of course, Chicago struggled in 2023 as well. Meanwhile, the Padres are just a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the National League West as of this story’s writing. It is possible that joining a potential contender re-energized Cease.

It is early in the season, of course. Still, Dylan Cease has made quite the first impression with his new ball club.