San Diego Padres' Dylan Cease Makes Coors Field History in Gem vs. Colorado Rockies
Dylan Cease allowed just one hit and one run in the San Diego Padres' win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday, showing out at a hitter-friendly Coors Field.
Right-hander Dylan Cease powered the San Diego Padres to victory on Monday, and he did so in historically-dominant fashion while pitching in the league's most hitter-friendly ballpark.
Cease and the Padres were facing the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, sitting 5,280 miles above sea level. The righty was perfect through 3.0 innings, setting himself up for yet another gem with his new team.
Charlie Blackmon led off the bottom of the fourth with a double and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly. Cease retired 12 batters in a row after Blackmon's two-bagger, though, and the Padres led 3-1 when he came off the mound after seven.
Cease gave up one hit and one earned run, not walking a single batter in 7.0 innings of work. According to The Athletic's Dennis Lin, Cease became the first pitcher to put up that line in Coors Field history.
Coors Field opened all the way back in 1995, two years after the Rockies joined MLB as an expansion team. For years, the stadium has featured more doubles, triples and home runs than any other ballpark, thanks to its mile-high status.
The elevation was hardly a problem for Cease, who mowed down 21 of the 22 batters he faced Monday.
Cease is now 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA, 0.742 WHIP, 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.9 WAR in 2024. He leads the National League with just 3.3 hits allowed per nine innings, and four of his five appearances have been quality starts.
San Diego traded for Cease on March 13, adding him to the top of their rotation just a week before the start of their regular season. He spent the previous five years with the Chicago White Sox, going 43-35 with a 3.83 ERA, 1.308 WHIP, 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings and an 11.7 WAR.
Cease placed second the AL Cy Young voting in 2022, and he certainly appears to be on track to contend for the award on the NL side in 2024.
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