M-Braves' Gohara posts career-high 11 K's

Luiz Gohara was so dominant on Saturday night that even the weather wasn't going to get the best of him. 
Despite dealing with a nearly one-hour rain delay, the ninth-ranked Braves prospect recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts, scattering five hits over six innings as Double-A Mississippi blanked Biloxi, 8-0, at Trustmark Park. He threw 72 of 98 pitches for strikes en route to his first win since June 18.

Gameday box score
His stuff was good enough to beat Brewers No. 19 prospect Freddy Peralta, who yielded two runs on four hits and two walks while fanning six in five innings. 
"He was in a good rhythm tonight from the start of the game," M-Braves pitching coach Derrick Lewis said of Gohara. "He had a tempo as well, so it was a really good job."
The left-hander lowered his ERA to 2.60 and his WHIP to 1.15 with 60 strikeouts over 52 innings since his promotion Class A Advanced Florida on May 10.  And in five starts in July, Gohara (2-1) sports a 1.78 ERA with 30 strikeouts. Like any start when the native of Brazil, it came back to spotting all of his pitches with precision. 

"He located his fastball; he really located it tonight," Lewis said. "He was able to throw it with velocity and locate it on both sides of the plate. He really commanded it tonight. ... He likes pitching inside and that's what he did. He had a good game plan and was consistent with it and he was consistent pitching inside." 
Gohara had things working from the outset, fanning two of the game's first three hitters. Dustin DeMuth started the second with a single, then the rain came and halted play for 48 minutes. But Mother Nature wasn't going to rain on the 20-year-old's parade. 
"For most of the time, he stayed into it," Lewis said. "He stayed in and was getting ready to go. He stayed loose and was staying focused throughout that entire time, so when the game starts back he was right back locked in." 
Gohara returned to the hill and retired nine of the next 10 Shuckers. After the southpaw struck out the side in fourth, he encountered some trouble in the fifth when Biloxi loaded the bases with two outs. After a quick visit from catcher Kade Scivicque, Gohara settled down and induced a popup from Tyler Bortnick to end the threat. 
"Basically, it was just staying in the moment," Lewis said. "It was staying calm and not trying to overanalyze it. He was throwing the ball well and it was just about taking it slowly. ... He was making good pitches and he just kept it going." 
An inning later, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound lefty set down the first two hitters before Clint Coulter reached on an error by shortstop Dylan Moore. Unfazed, Gohara got Angel Ortega to ground out to Moore to cap another scoreless outing.

Between his time in the Florida State League and with Mississippi, Gohara has a 2.34 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 99 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings. As the statistics continue to improve, Lewis said he's excited to see how the starter grows in his fifth professional season.
"He's had some good ones and tonight was a good one, as well," the pitching coach said. "All of them are stepping stones for where he wants to go. Tonight definitely was a good game from him and he's had some other ones, but he's progressing along. He's trying to learn something from each time out." 
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Corbin Clouse faced the minimum in the seventh and eighth and Jacob Webb worked around hit and fanned three in the ninth to complete the shutout.
Jared James tripled and drove in two runs on a three-hit night, while Braves No. 10 Travis Demeritte delivered a pinch two-run homer in the eighth.