SAN DIEGO — 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.''
