Cease strikes out 11 and allows one hit in six innings as Padres beat Braves

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Dylan Cease allowed one hit and struck out 11 in six dominant innings to lead the San Diego Padres to a 4-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.

“I finally got some things to sync up,” Cease said. “Tonight is definitely more of what I am looking for.”

David Peralta had three hits and two RBIs, All-Star Luis Arraez had three hits and drove in a run, and Manny Machado hit his 13th homer among his three hits for the Padres.

“He was controlling the barrel today,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said of Arraez. “He controls it pretty much every day.”

The Padres snapped a five-game losing streak. They had only scored five runs in their previous four games.

“It was well-played in all phases. We got timely hitting – three two-out RBI, stole some bags, played good defense,” Shildt said. “This was a playoff-type game. You had two front-line guys going ... Two good lineups, two good clubs.”

Cease (8-8) threw 69 of his 106 pitches for strikes, mixing his blazing four-seam fastball with his slider to keep Braves hitters off-balance. He worked his way out of a jam in the fourth inning by striking out Eddie Rosario with runners at second and third base with two outs to put down the Braves’ only prime scoring threat against him.

“He was electric. Talk about coming out hot, whew. He always has life on his ball but today he was really crisp,” Shildt said. “He was dynamic, as good as you are going to see. I just love the way he carried himself, too. He asserted his will.”

Cease got a standing ovation from an announced crowd of 43,097 in the Padres’ 31st sellout of the season. He waved his arms enthusiastically while walking off the field toward the Padres dugout after striking out the side in the sixth inning.

“I was just having a good time. Struck out the side, so the crowd was loud,” Cease said. “I haven’t had a lot of opportunities this year, so I just took advantage of it, I guess.”

Cease’s 149 strikeouts for the first half of the season set a Padres record, bettering Andy Benes’ 138 in 1994.

“That’s great, I had no idea,” Cease said. “Nice, that is awesome.”

Atlanta starter and NL All-Star Reynaldo López (7-3) lasted six innings. He gave up three runs and a season-high 11 hits. He hadn’t given up more than seven in a start this season.

All-Star Marcell Ozuna, who had two homers against San Diego on Friday night to give him an NL-high 77 RBIs, had two singles and a walk in four plate appearances.

San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after David Peralta doubled home Donovan Solano from second base.

The Padres built a 3-0 lead after Arraez doubled in Tyler Wade from second base in the fifth inning and Peralta singled in Machado from third base in the sixth inning.

UP NEXT

Braves: LHP Chris Sale (12-3, 2.74) will close out the series finale on Sunday afternoon and Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (2-4, 4.66).