Biscuits' Snell shines in Double-A debut

Blake Snell has been almost immaculate this season. If you thought his first Southern League start would prove differently, you were wrong.

The Rays' No. 10 prospect gave up one hit over six scoreless innings to win his Double-A debut Friday night as Montgomery coasted to a 11-1 thumping at Mississippi.

Snell (1-0) struck out eight while walking one. The 22-year-old left-hander faced two batters over the minimum and threw 63 of 92 pitches for strikes. He did not allow a runner past second base all night and retired 13 in a row before walking Chris O'Dowd with two outs in the fifth.

Gameday box score

"I felt like everything was working today," Snell said. "I had a good curveball, a good changeup, but most importantly, I was able to locate the fastball for the most part. I stayed with that for a good amount of the game and then I'd throw off-speed later in the counts."

Making his Southern League debut easier was the fact that the Biscuits scored seven runs in the third, giving the Washington native an easy path to a victory.

"It's nice, especially when the team gets like six or seven runs in the third inning," Snell said. "I was just trying to get back off the field to hit again. It was nice to get a comfortable lead where I could focus on the next pitch and not worry about anything else."

Snell certainly was deserving of a promotion after running roughshod over the Florida State League, where he piled up 27 strikeouts over 21 scoreless innings for Class A Advanced Charlotte. The 2011 first-round pick was quick to spread the credit.

"I mean, my defense behind me, me and the catcher, at both levels, I feel we've been on the same page," Snell said. "I feel like I'm getting ahead early in counts, which lets me put them away quicker. I'm not pressing myself that I have to make the perfect pitch. I'm believing in where I'm throwing and throwing it around that spot."

Zach Cooper followed Snell and gave up a run on four hits over two innings before Mark Sappington worked around a hit in the ninth for Montgomery.

Rays No. 2 prospect Daniel Robertson was 2-for-4 with a triple, three RBIs and two runs scored, while Boog Powell -- Tampa Bay's 17th-ranked prospect -- reached base four times and scored three times for the Biscuits.

Tyrell Jenkins, the Braves' No. 10 prospect, fell to 1-2 after surrendering nine runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out six batters and walked three.