White Sox 9, Reds 0: Cease’s Big Day

The question heading into today’s game was how would Dylan Cease fare against one of the highest-scoring teams in baseball: Would he continue the success he found last week vs. Detroit, or was it just a blip of good fortune?

Not only did Cease provide further evidence that he has indeed turned a corner, but he was largely dominant against the Reds. Dude even managed to go 3-for-3 at the plate, with a ringing, opposite-field double. He was so good that he even pulled a Jordan-esque shrug after his third hit.

It was certainly a charmed night for Cease; even on a night where he occasionally lost his way with command, still struck out 11 batters in six innings and left throwing fewer than 100 pitches.

With a 9-0 score, there were clearly more bats working well than just Cease’s. The Sox employed the very strategy on offense that was shared in the gamethread preview — allow Jeff Hoffman to pitch himself into trouble, and elevate his pitch count. While he only walked one batter with Mike Muchlinski’s generous strike zone, Hoffman’s elevated pitch count forced him out of the game in only the third inning.

The top half of the Sox lineup shined, with Tim Anderson and José Abreu each driving in three runs. The only batter to struggle was Adam Eaton, with three Ks in three ABs, both continuing their respective woes to get hits.

With such a dominant performance the night after announcing Luis Robert’s awful injury, it’s clear that the Sox aren’t planning to stop fighting. They managed to put together one of their most complete games of the season to signify their resiliency.

The White Sox are back at it tomorrow against the Reds with an early (11:35 a.m.) game time. A late 2010s marquee matchup of Dallas Keuchel vs. Sonny Gray is on the docket. If they can manage the game time shift, Bill Meincke has recap duty and Jeremy Karll takes the Six Pack.