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Dylan Cease strikes out 10 in 5 innings and Luis Robert drives in 3 as the Chicago White Sox beat the Texas Rangers 8-0

LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune
·4 min read

A comebacker hit Dylan Cease’s calf during the first inning Friday at Globe Life Field.

The ball bounced high in the air for an infield hit.

“Got me square,” Cease said.

The Chicago White Sox training staff checked on Cease, who said he was OK and remained in the game.

Cease sure looked all right, allowing four hits in five innings in an 8-0 victory against the Texas Rangers in front of 28,288.

“The first couple innings I wasn’t efficient and I wasted a lot of pitches,” Cease said. “I was frustrated but really I just locked down and just upped my focus, and it finally clicked. But I’ve got to get into a rhythm a little bit quicker.”

Cease (12-7) struck out 10 and walked two in his 92-pitch performance as the Sox began their final trip of the season on a positive note.

“I just went back to a little bit more focus,” Cease said. “Don’t take your eye off the target, and it clicked. But that’s baseball. Sometimes it takes a second to get in a groove. But really, wasting pitches like that is unacceptable. So it’s something I’m looking to limit, and I’m going to be able to take what happened (Friday) and finish strong in the season.”

It was the 12th shutout of the season for the Sox. With the win and the Cleveland Indians’ 8-0 loss to the New York Yankees, the team’s magic number for clinching the American League Central is five.

“It was a completely well-played game,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “A pleasure to watch it.”

The Sox broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning. Luis Robert had a three-run double and scored on a double by José Abreu, giving the Sox a 6-0 lead. Eloy Jiménez knocked in Abreu with a single.

Robert had three hits and three RBIs while Abreu had two hits and drove in two, giving him 111 RBIs.

Tim Anderson, who originally had a scheduled day off but was a late addition to the lineup, scored twice. Romy González had three hits, one RBI and scored twice. It was the first multihit game of his career.

“As soon as we get to the field, (assistant hitting coach) Howie (Clark) and (hitting coach) Frank (Menechino) are hounding on the opposing pitcher and what he likes to do and what he likes to throw in certain situations,” González said. “I just was definitely on time.

“I have to give a shoutout to (catcher Yasmani Grandal). He got with me in the video room and we were comparing when I had success in Double A and Triple A and we were comparing the two videos and made a couple of adjustments.”

González doubled and scored during the five-run fourth.

Even after the lengthy break in the top of the fourth, Cease was sharp. He struck out one in a 1-2-3 fourth and three more in the fifth.

“It’s really just the focus and the attention,” Cease said. “I’ve had those games where I got a big lead and I still wasted pitches. So when I got that lead, it was, ‘No more wasting anything. We’re throwing the ball in the zone.’ And I was able to do that.”

It’s his eighth double-digit strikeout performance this season.

“He’s really shown, he starts out well and then he may struggle, he gets back on it,” La Russa said. “He’s really come a long ways.”

La Russa said Cease wanted to go out for the sixth, but he might be in line for a start at the end of the Detroit Tigers series, so they decided to end his night after five.

“There’s definitely a plan in place,” Cease said. “For me, I just focus on the pitching aspect of it. My body feels great, and I can go as many as they need.”