A lot of questions are still left unanswered for the San Diego Padres as they have just nine more games until the start of the postseason.
Trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by just three games entering Friday, right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease is set to make the start against the Chicago White Sox.
Cease, 29, showed great success for the Padres in his first season with the team. He was acquired by San Diego in the offseason heading into the 2024 season. Now, in his second year with the team, his momentum hasn't been able to carry over.
Mike Shildt comments on Dylan Cease's struggles in 2025
Although Dylan Cease is still a strikeout machine this season (201 strikeouts in 157 innings), every major pitcher category has jumped tremendously compared to 2024. Last year, he had a 14-11 record, 3.47 ERA, and a 1.07 WHIP in 33 starts. This season, he has an 8-11 record, 4.59 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP in 30 starts.
Padres manager Mike Shildt addressed the struggles before Cease's start against his former team, the Chicago White Sox.
"It’s interesting, but I don’t know how to explain it," Shildt said, according to the FriarWire. "You see these things take place in the course of a season. One year you do this, the next year you do that. In this case specific to Dylan, I don’t have a real clear explanation. You could say there would be more merit to it if he hadn’t had a longer career, where he’s normalized how well he’s pitched."
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Cease's struggles are somewhat of a concern heading into a highly anticipated postseason with the Padres. In two starts in 2024, he went up against Dave Roberts and the Los Angeles Dodgers twice.
In his first outing, he gave up six hits and five earned runs over 3.1 innings. The next start, four days later, he went 1.2 innings, giving up four hits and three earned runs.
Hopefully, the former All-Star pitcher can find a groove in October. If he can't, it might be another short playoff run for the Padres.
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