Padres give Dylan Cease second chance to handle Dodgers with Game 4 start

The San Diego Padres are one win away from a return trip to the National League Championship Series. The Friars jumped out to an early lead on Tuesday night during Game 3, and the Dodgers' rally was not enough. San Diego owns a 2-1 lead in the series with a chance to close things out on Wednesday in front of the home crowd at Petco Park.

Padres manager Mike Shildt is making a bold move ahead of Game 4 and will turn to his ace Dylan Cease on just three days rest. This will be the first time in his entire career that Cease will go on short rest.

Padres give Dylan Cease second chance to handle Dodgers with Game 4 start

Cease did not have his best outing in Game 1 of the NLDS. The right-hander went just five innings and allowed three runs on five hits while walking three batters. Cease was still able to strike out four Dodgers hitters, but was lifted after just 82 pitches.

That's a low number for Cease in terms of pitch count and could work in the Padres' favor during Game 4. It was assumed prior to Shildt's announcement that Martín Perez would get the ball for Wednesday's affair. Perez was added to the Padres playoff roster after Joe Musgrove was declared out with a torn UCL, and the left-hander will be waiting in the wings just in case Cease falters out of the gate.

If Cease is unable to get the job done, there's always Game 5. The Dodgers will be looking to even the series and take it back to LA where Yu Darvish will surely be waiting. The Padres' right-hander got the start in Game 2 and absolutely dominated the Dodgers' lineup. With the impending off-day on Thursday, Darvish would be on full rest ahead of a potential Game 5.

The Padres are hoping that Game 5 isn't necessary and will look to advance to the NLCS for the second time in three seasons. Though the Friars' starting pitching has been somewhat shaky during the series, the bats have picked up the slack and will be counted upon once again in Game 4 with Cease on the hill.

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