Dylan Cease was one out away from history. Instead, he will have to settle for a complete game shutout instead.
The right-hander was absolutely dominant throughout the night, throwing 8.2 innings of no-hit baseball against the Twins. He managed his pitch count well throughout the night, and the strikeouts remained low along with the pitch count. In the end, he threw 103 pitches on a brilliant evening, with Luis Arraez – of course – being the only Twins hitters to reach base on a hit. He struck out seven in his outing, getting 14 swings and misses. From start to finish, he was absolutely dominant – pitching to contact while also being as filthy as usual. After Arraez got his hit, Cease wasted no time finish off Ryan Garlick to take care of the victory.
While Cease was busy dominating, the offense was busy taking care of business of their own. The boys were clicking on all cylinders early, as the White Sox put this one away early with a 4-0 lead in the first. Four straight hits to lead off the game, including a three-run homer by Eloy Jimenez, set the stage for a heavy offensive night. After that, Romy Gonzalez would get in on the fun, hitting a three-run homer of his own to give him his first career homer. Elvis Andrus would put this one into laugher territory with a grand slam off of position player Nick Gordon in the eighth inning. But, all of this offense played a backseat role to Dylan Cease all night, who deserves continued consideration for the Cy Young Award after his last two performances.
With the win, the White Sox are 67-66. They are now just two games behind Cleveland for first place in the division.
W: Dylan Cease (13-6) | L: Tyler Mahle (6-8)
StatCast Breakdown
Box Score
Offensive Recap:
Pitching Recap:
White Sox Scoring Recap:
Bottom 1st: Jose Abreu singles to RF. Elvis Andrus scores. 1-0 White Sox
Bottom 1st: Eloy Jimenez homers (9) to RF. Andrew Vaughn, Jose Abreu score. 4-0 White Sox
Bottom 4th: Romy Gonzalez homers (1) to LF. AJ Pollock, Josh Harrison score. 7-0 White Sox
Bottom 8th: Seby Zavala singles to LF. Adam Haseley, Mark Payton score. 9-0 White Sox
Bottom 8th: Elvis Andrus hits a grand slam (10) to LF. Josh Harrison, Seby Zavala, Romy Gonzalez score. 13-0 White Sox
Notable Performances
Dylan Cease: 9 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
Not much more you can say about Dylan Cease other than it was a Cy Young-worthy performance. Coming one out from a no-hitter with under 100 pitches thrown is a feat not too many have accomplished. Cease will no doubt throw a no-hitter some time in his career – based on what he showed tonight, it’s a matter of “when” not “if.”
Romy Gonzalez: 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
Congratulations to Romy Gonzalez, who hit his first career homer in tonight’s game. He’s looked awesome since coming up, and he’s earned himself a chance to compete for the second base job next season.
Eloy Jimenez: 1-for-2, HR, 3 RBI, R, BB, K
Eloy Jimenez has looked phenomenal since the All-Star Break, and he continued his torrid stretch today with another home run. Walks are up, strikeouts are down, and balls are leaving the ballpark for Jimenez. It’s a great combination.
The Next Matchup
The White Sox will go for the series sweep of the Twins tomorrow afternoon, as Lucas Giolito will look to get things right against Dylan Bundy.
The game will begin at 1:10 PM CT over on NBC Sports Chicago.
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Featured Image: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports