CHICAGO — Dylan Cease doesn't so much take the mound as command it. He wastes little motion and even less time. He throws the baseball hard and makes it move unnaturally with what seems like minimal effort.

It is the air and the ease of the rare pitcher who seems totally in control of the game.

"He competes," Luis Arraez said the other day when speaking of his former rival in the American League Central. "I look at him, he looks so comfortable."

Cease on Wednesday afternoon eased his way to 12 strikeouts over seven innings, as the Padres beat the Cubs, 3-0, at Wrigley Field.

The right-hander allowed one hit, a soft ground ball by Yan Gomes in the third inning that caromed off Cease's glove. He walked one and hit a batter and faced just one batter with a runner in scoring position.

Wednesday was the MLB-leading fifth time since 2021 (his first full season) that Cease has allowed one hit or fewer over seven scoreless innings.

Cease's dominance gave the Padres just what they needed — a drama-free game that got them back to .500 on the season and allowed manager Mike Shildt to minimize the usage of his distressed bullpen heading to an off-day.

A day after the Padres lost a game on a walk-off home run, all was well.

They won a third consecutive series and finished 4-2 on the road trip that saw them take two of three here and over the weekend in Arizona.

Cease (5-2, 2.19) tied a career high with 113 pitches in his seventh consecutive game going at least six innings.

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