CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs will finally enjoy a day off Thursday after a stretch of 16 games in 16 days.

But they’ll really enjoy not having to face Dylan Cease, a pitcher they once drafted, again this regular season.

In a triumphant return to Chicago, Cease struck out 12 and combined with two relievers on a one-hitter, and the San Diego Padres blanked the Cubs, 3-0, on Wednesday to take two of three in the series at Wrigley Field.

Cease, dealt to the Padres by the White Sox in March, allowed the Cubs’ lone hit in the bottom of the third when he deflected Yan Gomes’ comebacker and the ball ricocheted toward second baseman Xander Bogaerts, whose throw to first was late by a slim margin.

Cease (5-2) walked two and hit a batter while matching a career high with 113 pitches. The right-hander has a 2.19 ERA through eight starts, including six innings of two-hit ball in a win over the Cubs on April 10 in San Diego.

Cease was actually drafted by the Cubs in the sixth round of the 2014 June Amateur Draft out of Milton (Ga.) High School. But the White Sox acquired Cease and slugger Eloy Jiménez as part of a blockbuster trade-deadline deal with the Cubs in July 2017 for veteran pitcher Jose Quintana.

Cease spent his first five major-league seasons with the White Sox, who the Padres will also play this season, but in San Diego.

“I think this is the best I’ve commanded the ball ever, really,” said Cease, who struggled last season after finishing second in the 2022 American League Cy Young Award vote. “I think I’m throwing it really well right now.”

As for the rather high pitch total in this game?

“I would say, I just wasted a lot of pitches,” he said. “I think sometimes when you have games where they’re close, it’s very easy to … really try to be a little too fine at some points.

“I think I might have done that a little bit.”

Much-needed day off

Regardless of who’s on the mound for the other team, the Cubs will be happy to have the day off Thursday.

They’re getting a number of key players back from injury, and now they begin a difficult stretch in which they play the Atlanta Braves, a favorite to win the NL this season, six times in 12 games. The other six games in that stretch are against the Pittsburgh Pirates, starting Friday with a three-game weekend series in Pittsburgh.

The Cubs, who went 3-3 on their six-game homestand and are now 22-16 overall, are still in a virtual tie for first place in the NL Central with the Milwaukee Brewers, who also lost Wednesday.

The Cubs were shutout for the second time this season in their own loss Wednesday, despite a quality start from right-hander Hayden Wesneski (2-1). He gave up three runs and seven hits, matching a career high, in six-plus innings, with a walk and three strikeouts.

Wesneski exited after giving up a leadoff single to Ha-Seong Kim in the seventh.

“I thought Hayden pitched well,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “They got a couple two-out base hits. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, but when they got some guys on, they cashed it in.”

Luis Arraez singled twice and scored twice, helping San Diego win for the sixth time in eight games.

Arraez has given the Padres the spark they envisioned at the top of the order since he was acquired in a trade with Miami. The two-time batting champion is 8-for-20 with five runs in five games for San Diego.

“You just know he’s going to give a good at-bat,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “He’s got bat-to-ball skills that are, quite honestly, unparalleled that I’ve seen. There’s not a place to go for this guy.

“Even if you’re trying to get a chase on him, he can barrel up the ball that’s out of the zone. It’s tremendous to have a guy at the top of the order that can set a tone, and clearly, he did it.”

Arraez got hit by a pitch leading off the game and came home from second on Manny Machado’s two-out single. He also singled and scored in a two-run fifth against Wesneski.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit an RBI single with two outs in the inning, and Jake Cronenworth followed with a run-scoring double.

Wandy Peralta got three outs and Robert Suarez worked the ninth for his 12th save in 12 chances, finishing the Padres’ second shutout this season.

Trainer’s room

Cubs: SS Dansby Swanson was out of the lineup because of discomfort in his right knee. Counsell said the knee has been bothering him since a slide against Houston two weeks ago, and the Cubs opted to give him some extra rest with the off day on Thursday.

Up next

Cubs: The Cubs open a three-game series at Pittsburgh on Friday, and neither team has announced its starter.

The Pirates just called up top pitching prospect Paul Skenes, the No. 1 pick in last year’s amateur draft and MLB.com’s No. 3 prospect in all of baseball.

Skenes will make his major-league debut for the Pirates against the Cubs on Saturday, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.

First pitch for Friday’s series opener is 5:40 p.m.