Dylan Cease's meltdown vs. Dodgers sparks new worries for Padres

The Padres made the decision not to ship off Dylan Cease at the trade deadline, despite being surrounded by numerous trade rumors. They chose to follow this path in hopes that the struggling right-hander could find his rhythm during the final stretch of the regular season, which made sense, based on his career numbers in the second-half.

It seemed as if the move was paying dividends, as in his first two starts post-trade deadline, Cease pitched a total of 11 innings, posted an ERA of 1.64, struck out 16 batters, and earned wins in both decisions.

Cease was starting to refind his footing, and at the perfect time, as the Padres were heading to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers in a pivotal three-game series. The two teams were trending in opposite directions, as the Padres were coming off a sweep of the Giants, while the Dodgers had been swept against their crosstown rivals in the Angels. 

The Dodgers took Game 1 by a score of 3–2, knotting the two teams’ records at 69–53. With Cease scheduled to start on Saturday, it seemed that the Padres would have a fair shot at getting back into sole possession of the NL West.

Padres' Dylan Cease faltered in biggest start of the season vs. Dodgers on the road

But unfortunately, that turned out to not be the case, as Cease was chased after only 3 1/3 innings. The biggest issue was his command, as he walked six batters and allowed two runs. The walks led to a problem with his pitch count, as he averaged around 26 pitches an inning. The Padres went on to lose this game 6–0, putting them a full game back of L.A.

This performance raises a lot of concern for the Padres’ pitching staff as we move closer to playoff time. The team can’t afford this version of Dylan Cease, especially with Michael King being placed back on the injured list.

While King’s stint on the IL is short, it raises the question of whether the Padres should have added an “impact” starting pitcher at the deadline. The front office did go out and acquire JP Sears and Nestor Cortes, but those two don’t add that “it” factor to the rotation.

If the Padres want to have a shot at the division, it is important that Dylan Cease find the old version of himself—the one that was talked about amongst the media as a Cy Young candidate. His next scheduled start should be the series opener against the Dodgers at home on Friday, but that is not yet confirmed.