Padres' Dylan Cease Gets Brutally Honest on Rough Performance vs Dodgers

Aug 16, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease (84) throws during the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease commented on his performance in the Padres' second game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.

Cease pitched 3.1 innings, allowing five runs and six walks. The Dodgers went on to win the game, 6-0, and reclaimed sole possession of top spot in the NL West.

“Walks kill you,” Cease said. “At the end of the day, I didn’t really give us a chance.”

The Dodgers went up 5-0 in the second inning, and after Will Smith caught three Padres runners stealing, they had no way to stay in the game. Cease had put together a couple of good starts in August before his outing on Saturday, and had a 1.64 ERA this month before the game against the Dodgers.

"I’ve been inconsistent this year, unfortunately,” Cease said. “When it’s good, I’m commanding all my pitches. When it’s bad, it seems like it’s not finding the zone. … It’s disappointing, but I gotta flush it and get ready for the next one.”

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Cease definitely isn't pitching at the level he did last season with the Friars, though is still showing some promising numbers, which is a good sign if he is to make a comeback.

Despite his ERA, which is sitting at 4.61, he has maintained a high strikeout rate, even exceeding that of last season when he placed fourth in Cy Young voting. His breaking ball is still working well, as is seen by his 95th percentile whiff rate and 87th percentile breaking run value, and his four-seamer has marginally increased in velocity.

While Saturday's game may have set Cease and the Padres back a couple of games, there is still plenty of time for both parties to sort themselves out and make a run at the NL West, which they haven't won since 2006.

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The Padres will look to salvage their series against the Dodgers and avoid a sweep on Sunday, bringing themselves back to level at the top of the division with the Dodgers. Yu Darvish will start for the Friars and look to continue to produce solid numbers against LA.

The Friars will face Tyler Glasnow on the mound Sunday at 1:10 p.m. PT.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.