Cease (11-5) earned the win against Baltimore on Sunday, allowing one run on four hits and five walks while striking out nine across five innings.
Cease got off to a shaky start by loading the bases in the first inning with no outs, but the AL Cy Young candidate got himself out of trouble by striking out the next three batters he faced. He proceeded to keep the Orioles off the board until a Pete Alonso RBI single in the fifth, though Cease did not have the opportunity to earn the quality start as he ran his put count up to 94 (60 strikes) while generating 12 whiffs. The five walks were a season high for Cease, but he recorded at least nine strikeouts for the 13th time this season, and his 236 punchouts are tied with Jacob Misiorowski for most in the majors. Cease will take a 2.38 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over 166.1 innings into his next start, tentatively slated for next week on the road against the Rangers in what could be his penultimate outing of the regular season.