Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher commented after a poor start for the team in an important game against the Texas Rangers on Friday night.
The Blue Jays are fighting for their playoff lives right now, so every game is super important to win at the moment.
Unfortunately for Toronto, they had a rough game on Friday in Texas, as the Rangers defeated the Blue Jays 7-1.
With the loss, the Blue Jays fell to 76-78 on the year, while the Rangers moved past them in the standings with a 77-77 record.
More concerning, however, was Cease’s poor start for Toronto, as he pitched just 2.2 innings, allowing three hits, six walks, and four runs, though only one run was earned due to errors from the team’s defense.
Still, it was not the typical start that Blue Jays fans have been used to seeing from the team’s ace this season, and his velocity was also down as he appears to be battling the wear and tear of a long and grinding MLB season.
Dylan Cease Reacts to Poor Start
Speaking to reporters following the game, Cease shared his reaction to a very disappointing start that may have sunk his chances to win the American League Cy Young Award for good.
“If you don’t have velocity or sharp stuff but you can throw strikes and execute, you can still get outs. But the walks and not commanding the ball is not a good recipe,” Cease said (via Sportsnet).
“I think it’s just late in the year. Obviously, I’m still able to take the ball and throw and all that. I don’t know if it changes that much. I’m just trying to get it in the zone and execute. Whether it’s 92 or 98, the name of the game is executing pitches. So, that’s all I’m really trying to do.”
John Schneider Comments on Dylan Cease’s Start
Blue Jays manager John Schneider also commented on Cease’s rough start, confirming that his staff ace says he’s healthy despite the decreased velocity.
“He’s reporting nothing. Feeling all right, feeling good. It’s where we are in the season. Everyone’s kind of battling and grinding to make pitches, grinding to make plays. So, we’ll just be in touch with him. But nothing physically alarming enough to say, ‘hey, we’re going to skip you’ or anything like that. So, just try to manage it, try to work through it in between, and get ready for his next one,” Schneider said.
The Blue Jays are battling a rash of injuries to their pitching rotation at the moment, but they also need to win every game they can as there isn’t much time left in the season to secure a playoff spot.
With that in mind, Schneider is hoping that Jose Soriano can step it up and go deep in Saturday’s game against Texas to help save a taxed bullpen.
“We’re asking a lot. We’re trying to monitor, when they’re in there, pitch count and number of ups and things like that. But we’re going to need Jose to be good tomorrow and reset it a little bit, that’s for sure,” Schneider said.
Dylan Cease Comments After Rough Start for Blue Jays