Rome's Anderson rebounds from struggles

Despite struggling in his previous two starts, Ian Anderson wasn't going to overcompensate with extra fastballs in subsequent outings. In fact, it was the exact opposite approach that proved successful for Braves No. 6 prospect on Friday. 
Anderson scattered three hits, walked two and struck out five over six innings to lift Class A Rome to a 2-0 win over Asheville at McCormick Field. 
"It was probably mixing speeds. The changeup was really working for me the second and third time through the lineup," he said. "I think that helped me get early contact and the guys made the plays that needed to be made. I think that was what was working most for me -- changing speeds and getting it over." 

Gameday box score
After striking out a career-high 11 on May 25 against Augusta, Anderson allowed nine runs over 9 1/3 innings in his next two starts. Still, MLB.com's No. 75 overall prospect kept the same mentality against the Tourists and brought his ERA down to 4.15. 
"I've been talking with my pitching coach, Dan Meyer, and we like what we see," Anderson said. "I feel like I've been throwing the ball pretty well and the results necessarily weren't there. It was nice to get those results tonight." 
The right-hander, who admittedly has battled inconsistency early in games, retired the first five batters on 16 pitches Friday. With two outs in the second, Max George and Joel Diaz reached on consecutive walks, but Anderson kept his composure and fanned Brian Serven. 
"I was kind of overthrowing instead of trusting my stuff," Anderson said. "Dan came out and said, 'You've got this right here. Just trust your stuff.' That's what I did and it helped me get that strikeout. Things took off from there." 
Asheville presented the 2016 first-round pick with another two-out challenge in the fourth. Willie Abreu reached on an infield single and George followed with a single to center. After another brief conversation with Meyer, Anderson got Diaz to line out to second. 
"It's great when they come down to settle you down a little bit," he said. "You get too fired up and things get out of control. But we were able to settle things down and get out of the inning. And that's a huge lift for the team to see a zero up there [on the scoreboard] and then have a chance for us to throw something up there." 
Over the final two innings, the Rexford, New York, native used his off-speed pitches to put away six of the final seven batters he faced. After Abreu flied out to left, Anderson walked off the mound "feeling great" with his performance. 
Working with batterymate Brett Cumberland for the fifth time this year, the 19-year-old threw 57 strikes among 89 pitches. Anderson credits Rome's entire catching corps for their abilities behind the plate. 
"He's been great. Him and Lucas Herbert and Carlos Martínez, as well," Anderson said. "They do a great job back there. They call a great game, work really hard for you out there. It's nice knowing that and it makes you want to work harder for them. There's a great relationship, I communicate awesome with them. All in all, it's a good relationship." 
Pitching in his first full professional season after posting a 2.04 ERA in 10 Rookie-level starts in 2016, Anderson has tempered expectations. 

"I just kind of play it by ear, can't look too much into the future," he said. "I can go out there five days from now and try to replicate what I did tonight, but there's no saying what's going to happen." 
Thomas Burrows fanned four in two scoreless innings, and Brandon S. White worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to earn his sixth save for Rome. 
Riley Pint (1-7), the No. 2 Rockies prospect and ranked 43rd overall, allowed two runs -- one earned -- on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings for Asheville.