Chicago White Sox ace starter Dylan Cease was nearly unhittable Saturday night against the Minnesota Twins. The key word being nearly.
The 23-year-old was just an out away from posting a no-hitter, but it was not to be.
After keeping the Twins hitless through eight innings, things started well for Cease in the ninth inning. First, the right-hander struck out Caleb Hamilton swinging before forcing Gilberto Celestino to fly out to center for the second out. That brought up Luis Arraez, who drove a 1-1 pitch over second baseman Romy Gonzalez's head, breaking up the no-no.
Luis Arraez breaks up Dylan Cease’s no hitter with two outs in the 9th.#mntwins | #changethegame pic.twitter.com/3kvHrOBvxu
— Robert Flores (@RoFlo) September 4, 2022
"I didn't want to give him anything too good to hit, but I didn't want to fall behind and walk him either," a disappointed Cease told Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal after the game. "So, I just tried to get it down, and he got to it."
Despite coming short of posting a no-hitter, Cease found a silver lining, having thrown a complete game in a 13-0 White Sox victory. The White Sox increased their win streak to four games and now sit just two games back of the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the AL Central.
The victory moved Cease to 13-6 on the year. He boasts a 2.13 ERA with a 197 to 64 strikeout to walk ratio in 27 starts for the White Sox.
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