Cease dominates as Padres take series, stay hot in NL playoff hunt

San Diego, California – After being floated in trade rumors leading up to the deadline, Dylan Cease delivered one of his most dominant outings of the season, striking out nine over five innings of one-hit ball in the Padres’ 7-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The victory secured a weekend series win at Petco Park and capped off a 5-1 homestand for the Friars, who are now 7-1 in their last eight games.

Cease labored in a 28-pitch first inning, but once he settled in, the Cardinals couldn’t touch him. He fanned seven of the next nine batters and didn’t allow another baserunner apart from a dubious catcher’s interference call. He improved to 4-10 on the season, but the win column hardly reflects his recent form.

The offense backed him up with a deep, balanced attack. In the fourth, Ramon Laureano legged out an infield single and Jake Cronenworth—batting eighth despite being a two-time All-Star—crushed a two-run homer to right-center. In the seventh, Jackson Merrill continued his tear with a bases-clearing triple, stretching the lead to 5-0. Laureano added his first homer in a Padres uniform in the eighth to make it 7-0.

The bullpen did its job, as Jason Adam, Jeremiah Estrada, and David Morgan combined for three perfect innings with six strikeouts. But things got dicey in the ninth. Adrian Morejon struggled, allowing five straight batters to reach and cutting the lead to 7-2 with the bases loaded and no outs.

That forced manager Mike Shildt to turn to Robert Suarez in a spot that shouldn’t have required a closer—but Suarez delivered. He struck out Yohel Pozo, allowed a sac fly to Lars Nootbaar, then snagged a sharp comebacker off the bat of Masyn Winn to shut the door and lock down his 32nd save of the year.

With the win, San Diego stays three games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and extends their Wild Card cushion to 4.0 games. The Padres hit the road next, kicking off a crucial three-game set in Arizona on Monday night.