Emeralds' Cease saves the best for last

Dylan Cease has continued to get better as the season has gone along. Monday was the culmination of that.

The Cubs' No. 4 prospect fanned a career-high 10 batters while allowing one hit over five innings, but Class A Short Season Eugene eventually fell to Hillsboro, 6-1, on Monday.

Cease carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, facing the minimum until Luis Veras singled with one out in the frame. The 20-year-old right-hander rebounded to get Jason Heinrich to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. The 2014 sixth-round pick exited after throwing 52 of 71 pitches for strikes.

"I was just mixing pitches and being aggressive," he said. "[Veras] just hit the fastball. Took an outside pitch through the gape between first and second."

Cease surpassed his previous career high of eight strikeouts, set on Aug. 17 against Boise and matched on Aug. 30 against Tri-City.

"I was throwing my curveballs for strikes and bouncing them when I needed to," the Georgia native said.

This was Cease's first start since June 23 in which he did not walk a batter. Command has been an issue at times, and he's issued 25 walks in 44 2/3 innings in the Northwest League.

"I just focused on being aggressive and continued to build on what I've been doing," Cease said.

Monday's outing marked his last regular-season start, though with the playoffs looming for the Emeralds, having the best start of his career came at the right time.

"It was definitely up there," he said. "It was very important to stay focused and prepare for the playoffs."

Overall, Cease is 2-0 with a 2.22 ERA and ranks fourth in the league with 66 strikeouts.

Alex Santana was tagged with the loss in relief after allowing five runs on three hits and two walks while fanning three over 1 1/3 innings. M.T. Minacci gave up a run on three hits and two walks while recording a pair of strikeouts over the final 1 2/3 frames for Eugene.

Hillsboro reliever Riley Smith (2-0) picked up the win after allowing one hit over one frame of work. Rehabbing Arizona starter Ethan Elias struck out one in two perfect innings.

Jose Queliz slugged a three-run homer and Jason Morozowski hit a solo homer to lead the Hops' comeback.