Right-hander Dylan Cease took his game to another level Monday — allowing one hit over seven shutout innings, with no walks, 11 strikeouts and one hit batsman — to lead the White Sox to a 3-0 victory over the Angels before 13,112 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Cease (3-1) was in command from the start, retiring the first nine batters before allowing his lone hit — Taylor Ward’s hard-hit double that went over left-fielder AJ Pollock’s outstretched glove to lead off the fourth inning.
He matched a career high with the 11 strikeouts and struck out Mike Trout all three times he faced him. It was the 10th time Cease has struck out 10 or more batters in a game, tying him with Gary Peters and James Scott on the Sox’ all-time list of multiple double-digit strikeout games. He dropped his ERA to 2.84 for the season.
The victory gave the Sox (9-13) a split of their four-game series with the American League West-leading Angels (15-9) and was their third victory in six games following an eight-game losing streak. They open a two-game series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night
Pollock had an RBI ground out and Jake Burger a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the first inning that gave the Sox a 2-0 lead. Adam Engel’s RBI double that scored Jose Abreu from first base made it 3-0 in the sixth inning.
Kendall Graveman pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Liam Hendriks pitched a 1-2-3 ninth — striking out Trout looking to end it — for his fifth save in six opportunities to clinch the victory.
