CHICAGO -- Dylan Cease was four pitches away from completing his warmup prior to his scheduled start for Thursday¡¯s game -- which turned out to be an 8-0 White Sox victory over the Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field -- when he felt his left hamstring ¡°seize up¡± on a pitch.

The 23-year-old White Sox right-hander gave the problem a minute to see if it was a one-time thing, before he tried to throw again and was then scratched from the final outing of his rookie season.

¡°I could tell something was up,¡± Cease said.

¡°Didn¡¯t expect it. It literally was five minutes before the game,¡± White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. ¡°The phone rings in the dugout and [pitching coach Don Cooper] says, ¡®He can¡¯t go, and who do you want?¡¯ So, it¡¯s kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision.¡±

Cease will undergo a precautionary MRI on Friday, but he doesn¡¯t think the injury is severe. Right-hander Jos¨¦ Ruiz started in his place, leading a group of five White Sox relievers who shut out the Indians and allowed only four hits. That group included lefty H¨¦ctor Santiago, who threw 100 pitches on Tuesday.

After Thursday's injury, Cease finishes his debut campaign at 4-7 with a 5.79 ERA, 81 strikeouts, 15 home runs allowed and 35 walks over 73 innings in 14 starts. The numbers might not be overwhelming, but Cease was pleased with what he learned in Year 1.

¡°This was a really good season for me,¡± Cease said. ¡°I didn't necessarily perform how I would have liked to, but I learned a lot from it. So, I feel excited for next year.

¡°One of them was more a physical adjustment with my front side. But a lot of it was just continuing to battle when you don't necessarily feel good and continuing to prepare and treat every start like you're supposed to. It¡¯s disappointing, but it is what it is. I feel good. I feel like I ended pretty strong. I feel excited.¡±