Chicago White Sox starter Dylan Cease started feeling under the weather about four days ago.
“I woke up with a heavy body and a sore throat and a fever,” Cease said Saturday.
As soon as he was cleared to pitch, Cease wanted to be on the mound.
And after a short stint on the injured list, he returned Saturday. The right-hander did not factor in the decision in Saturday’s 7-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Marwin Gonzalez broke a 3-all tie with a solo home run off reliever Codi Heuer to begin the eighth inning, and the Red Sox tacked on three more runs in the inning to take the entertaining opener of a four-game series.
Cease went on the injured list for precautionary reasons Wednesday after displaying COVID-19 symptoms. He was reinstated Friday after a series of negative tests and started Saturday in front of 4,668 at Fenway Park.
“I physically felt fine today,” Cease said. “It added a little bit of a wrinkle to the routine, but at the end of the day I was still able to go out there and compete.”
Cease allowed two runs on six hits with six strikeouts and three walks on 85 pitches in 4? innings.
“It was another one of those where if I’m a little bit more efficient, I’m deeper into the game,” Cease said. “I did battle. I’m not the most thrilled with it, but … I’m going to keep grinding. It was OK.”
Added catcher Zack Collins: “He was throwing all four pitches for strikes, which is really what you’re looking for out of any starter. He threw a couple pitches there that were close, I thought should’ve been called. He battled his butt off and showed that he was there to stay. He did a good job.”
Cease described his season to date as “a little bit middle of the road.”
He has gone 4? innings in each of his three starts, compiling a 3.86 ERA with 15 strikeouts and nine walks.
The White Sox scored twice in the first inning to give him an early lead Saturday.
And Adam Eaton made a spectacular catch in the second inning, crashing into the wall in right field while robbing Rafael Devers of a home run.
“That was incredible,” Cease said of the catch. “My initial reaction was just excited that he was able to do it. That was a special catch.”
The Red Sox scored twice in the third with sacrifice flies from Alex Verdugo and Devers.
Sox manager Tony La Russa liked how Cease bounced back after the third. The right-hander struck out the side in the fourth.
“It just looked like he was out of whack (in the second and third innings) and he pulled himself together and got us five big outs,” La Russa said. “Even though it wasn’t as clean as he’s been pitching, I thought he did a really good job of continuing to compete and give us a chance.”
Enrique Hernández knocked in Kevin Plawecki with a two-out single in the sixth inning against reliever Evan Marshall to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead.
The White Sox tied the game in the seventh after Tim Anderson singled, stole second and moved to third when the throw bounced off shortstop Xander Bogaerts’ glove and into center field. Anderson scored on a Yoan Moncada sacrifice fly to center.
Gonzalez gave the Red Sox the lead again one inning later. J.D. Martinez drew a walk with the bases loaded against Jose Ruiz before Bogaerts drove in two with a bloop double to right.
La Russa pointed to the White Sox leaving some pitches in the strike zone when they had a count in their favor as the “tale of the day.”
“That’s probably the No. 1 takeaway that we can improve on,” La Russa said.
The White Sox (6-8), who went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, have lost three of their last four.
“It’s baseball, it’s going to be a roller coaster every year no matter how good you are,” Collins said. “We’re going to have ups, we’re going to have downs. It just so happens that ours happens to be in the first three weeks of the season. Things will jell together. We’ll find our way in the winning column pretty soon.”
The series continues with a split doubleheader Sunday. Dallas Keuchel will pitch the first game for the White Sox while the Game 2 starter is to be determined.
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