Dylan Cease strikes out 11 and allows 1 hit in ‘the best start of my career’ for a 3-0 Chicago White Sox win

Dylan Cease was in command against the entire Los Angeles Angels lineup Monday — and Mike Trout was no exception.

Cease struck out the three-time American League MVP three times in the Chicago White Sox’s 3-0 victory, part of an 11-strikeout performance that matched the right-hander’s career high. He got Trout swinging in the first inning, retired him on a 98 mph fastball in the fourth and struck him out looking in the seventh.

“That was the best start of my career by far, from execution to stuff to results,” said Cease, who allowed just one hit in seven innings. “That’s definitely a good one to build on.”

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Cease and relievers Kendall Graveman and Liam Hendriks limited the Angels to two hits and struck out 15 as the Sox gained a split of the four-game series in front of 13,112 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“I don’t think you can say enough about what Cease has been able to do the whole year,” said Hendriks, who struck out the side in the ninth and collected his fifth save. “He’s been unbelievable.”

Just two Angels reached against Cease (3-1), who surrendered a double to Taylor Ward in the fourth and hit Tyler Wade with a pitch in the sixth. It’s the fifth time Cease has recorded 11 strikeouts.

“I felt great,” Cease said. “I went in with a plan — just keep my eyes on the target, execute pitches — and fortunately it worked out.”

Cease’s 10 double-digit strikeout games are tied with Jim Scott and Gary Peters for ninth in Sox history. He has 39 strikeouts this season, tied with Chris Sale (2014) and Jake Peavy (2013) for the third-most by a Sox pitcher through five starts.

“How quickly he’s developing is just very fun to see,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “To me he’s pitching with a lot of command. He also competes. Never satisfied with the last inning. It’s always the next one.”

Cease struck out at least two batters in four of his seven innings, including striking out the side in the fifth.

“Some games I’ll have outings where I’ve only got really two pitches working and I’m battling,” Cease said. “Today I pretty much feel like I knew where four pitches were going.”

That includes the three times he faced Trout.

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“He’s maybe the greatest player of all time, so any time you can get him out it’s definitely a confidence booster,” Cease said. “I stayed pretty even-keeled today. It’s best to just focus on what you’ve got to do. If you sit there and think, ‘Oh, my God, it’s Mike Trout,’ it’s going to be hard to get him out.

“I was just staying focused on what I had to do. And it worked out well.”

Hendriks struck out Trout in the ninth to end the game — and an 0-for-4, four-strikeout day for the Angels superstar.

“You’re talking about one of the best hitters not only just currently in the game, but possibly in history,” Hendriks said. “And he doesn’t swing and miss too often. I’ve heard some people say his approach is he sits on the pitcher’s best pitch. Well Cease has five different best pitches. It’s unbelievable.

“You don’t see it too often (against Trout). That just means whoever he plays tomorrow, he’s probably going to break out and do something really cool.”

Offensively, the Sox carried over the momentum from Sunday’s five-run ninth inning by scoring twice in the first. Tim Anderson and Luis Robert singled and scored.

In the sixth, José Abreu singled and scored from first on a two-out double by Adam Engel. Abreu had a smile on his face following a slight tumble after sliding at home plate.

“We kept building off the energy from that last inning (Sunday),” Anderson said. “Hopefully we can keep building off this win today, keep competing and be able to go across town and get two wins (against the Cubs).”

After losing eight straight, the Sox have split their last six games.

“We never really lost hope,” Cease said. “It was just a really rough stretch and things like that’ll happen. But it’s a long season and I would put our talent with just about anybody.”

The Sox optioned infielder Danny Mendick and reliever Anderson Severino to Triple-A Charlotte before the game as Major League Baseball reduced rosters from 28 to 26 players.

Mendick was 5 for 20 (.250) with two doubles, one home run and three RBIs in 10 games. Severino had a 6.14 ERA and nine strikeouts in six relief appearances.