The month of July went about as well as possible for Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease.
The 30-year-old veteran will try to stay on track when he takes the mound against the host Chicago Cubs on Thursday in a makeup game from a rainout on June 21.
Cease went 3-1 with a 1.00 ERA in five starts in July, and he was selected the American League’s Pitcher of the Month. He also was credited with the win after throwing one scoreless inning and striking out three as the AL’s starting pitcher in the All-Star Game on July 14.
Cease is making a good impression in his first season after signing a seven-year, $210 million free agent deal with the Blue Jays in December.
“He’s right up there with the best I’ve seen or had on a staff,” Toronto manager John Schneider said. “It can be pretty special on any given night.”
Cease (7-5, 2.41 ERA) did not receive a decision in his most recent outing. He limited the St. Louis Cardinals to one run and three hits over six innings in Toronto’s 3-1 win on Friday. He departed with the score tied 1-1 before Toronto scored twice in the eighth.
Cease lowered his ERA to 2.41, which is second best in the AL behind the 2.26 mark of New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler.
“There’s a few guys who have been on some pretty good rolls here who you’d feel pretty good about, but I think he’s in a bit of a different category right now with the way he’s feeling, how his stuff’s working and how he’s using it,” Schneider said of Cease. “He’s pretty damn good right now.”
Cease has made eight career starts against the Cubs, going 4-2 with a 2.47 ERA.
Toronto is coming off a 5-4, 10-inning win in the decisive contest of a three-game road series against the Houston Astros on Wednesday. After the makeup game in Chicago, the Blue Jays will visit Philadelphia for a three-game series this weekend.
The Cubs also enter the game on a high note after completing a three-game sweep of the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers with a 7-6 win on Wednesday.
Chicago is 12-7 since the All-Star break, providing a comfortable cushion for the top NL wild-card spot.
David Peterson (6-7, 5.52 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for the Cubs on Thursday.
The left-hander pitched well enough to win a third straight start in his most recent outing, but he did not get a decision in the Cubs’ 5-2 victory against the Yankees on Saturday.
Peterson allowed two runs (one earned) and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. He departed after giving up a solo home run that put the Cubs behind 2-1 before they rallied with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
“I felt good,” Peterson said. “It was good to get into the seventh. I would’ve liked to get through that, but we were at where we were at in the game. That’s the goal for me is to try to go as deep as possible and give the team a chance to win.”
Peterson is 3-1 with a 4.36 ERA in six starts since he was acquired from the New York Mets on June 25 in exchange for minor league first baseman Cole Mathis. He was 3-6 with a 6.09 ERA and one save in 16 appearances with the Mets this year, half as a starter and half as a reliever.
Peterson said he has gone back to some old habits, including using his lower body more efficiently.
“That’s kind of the biggest thing, and then just kind of tweaking things as we go and finding spots we can get better,” he said.
Peterson is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts against the Blue Jays.
–Field Level Media
