If there are baseball gods, they surely favored Dylan Cease when he was traded from the struggling Chicago White Sox to the San Diego Padres during spring training.
The significance of leaving the South Side for Southern California was clear late Sunday afternoon at Petco Park.
In the visiting locker room, Cease’s former teammates quietly packed for their flight home after matching the modern-era record of 120 losses. Meanwhile, down the hall, the atmosphere was lively after a comeback win that brought Cease and the Padres close to making the playoffs.
“We’re fighting for the playoffs and beyond. I love this team, so I’m just happy to be here,” Cease said.
With their magic number down to one, Cease and the Padres could secure a playoff spot as soon as Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, where they will begin a crucial three-game series against their biggest rivals.
The Padres, who have 90 wins for the first time since 2010, are three games ahead of Arizona for the NL’s first wild card. They also have a chance to win the NL West for the first time since 2006.
They trail Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers by three games, with six games remaining. The Padres have the tiebreaker against the Dodgers with a 7-3 record in their head-to-head matchups.
Cease (14-11, 3.42 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Wednesday night.
Securing a playoff spot would be another highlight for Cease this season. After being traded on March 13 for four players, he had to quickly find his passport and pack his things to join the Padres in Seoul, South Korea, for their season-opening series against the Dodgers.
On July 25, he pitched his first career no-hitter in a 3-0 victory at Washington, joining Joe Musgrove as the only Padres pitchers to achieve this.
Beyond being no-hitter teammate, Cease was having trouble sleeping in his noisy apartment, so Musgrove invited him to stay at his guest house in a quieter area.
“It’s as much fun as I’ve ever had playing baseball,” said Cease, who also described the Padres as the most complete team he’s ever been a part of.
“I think we’re all feeling optimistic. The resilience on this team has been amazing to watch. It’s just really fun to be part of.”
Cease reached the playoffs with the White Sox in 2020 and 2021. However, they finished 81-81 in 2022 and lost 101 games last year.
“It’s much more enjoyable to win. And I know that sounds obvious, but losing that much is definitely tiring,” Cease explained. “It affects everything. So being on a team that plays well and is in the hunt gives us all a lot of energy every game. It’s great. I’m really fortunate to be here.”
The Padres are almost at full strength as they approach October and hope to win their first World Series title to honor Peter Seidler, the owner who passed away on November 14 at age 63.
Yu Darvish and Musgrove are back in the rotation after long absences. Slugger Manny Machado has recovered from a slow start after offseason elbow surgery.
Fernando Tatis Jr. and his confident play have returned after a two-month injury break. Center fielder Jackson Merrill is making a strong case for NL Rookie of the Year.
Cease has been one of the few reliable players all season. The 28-year-old right-hander leads the team with 32 starts, 184 1/3 innings pitched, and 220 strikeouts.
“That was a nice boost for the club going into Korea, knowing we added another top player,” manager Mike Shildt said.
With Darvish missing three months and Musgrove two months, the Padres had someone like Cease “who you know you can rely on every fifth day for a quality start,” Shildt added. “He’s been very important to us. He’s done an amazing job for us.”
Cease’s no-hitter wasn’t a shock. He came within one out of a no-hitter while with Chicago in 2022 against Minnesota, which was broken up by Luis Arraez, who is now his teammate on the Padres.
“It’s nice to have someone else in the team, and I’m glad it’s him,” Musgrove said.
Cease mentioned that Musgrove, who grew up in nearby El Cajon, is “kind of like the mayor here, so doing this and being the only two is really cool and special.”
In his last start, Cease took a one-hitter into the ninth inning in a 4-0 win against AL East-leading Houston on Wednesday. He called that the third-best start of his career, after his no-hitter and the near no-hitter.
