Padres' Dylan Cease: Pitches well in loss

Cease (5-3) took the loss Tuesday against the Rockies, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight over 5.2 innings.

Cease blanked the Rockies through three before Ryan McMahon took him deep to lead off the fourth. He then ran into some trouble in the sixth, allowing an additional run before being pulled with two outs in the inning and being charged with a third run before the frame concluded. It was just the second time this year Cease has failed to complete six innings and his first since his season debut. The strikeouts continue to pile up, as he's punched out at least eight in four of his last five starts and is second in the majors with 68 over 55 innings. He now owns a 2.45 ERA and 0.78 WHIP and lines up for a tough test on the road against Atlanta next week.