CHICAGO -- It sat with Dylan Cease all offseason. Longer, really.

“In a sense,” said the ever-introspective Padres right-hander, “it really never leaves. It's part of your story and your history, I suppose.”

Cease was reflecting on the Padres’ postseason exit last October at the hands of the Dodgers -- and his role in it. He struggled in Game 1 . He was called upon to pitch on short rest in Game 4, then exited early after a rough start. San Diego lost both games.

Speaking a day before his Wednesday start at Wrigley Field -- where he’ll pitch in the postseason for the first time since those two disappointments -- Cease continued:

“I would say [it stayed with me] most of the offseason, for sure. But at the end of the day, I think when a new season starts, it's a new opportunity.”

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