Gnats' Meisner turns things around quickly

The Mets thought Casey Meisner might just be a pitcher waiting to break out. Thursday's game seemed to back up the sentiment.

New York's No. 18 prospect surrendered just one hit while fanning a season-high 10 batters over seven innings as Class A Savannah defeated Rome, 2-0, on Thursday.

Meisner only allowed a single to Braves third baseman Jordan Edgerton in the third inning. The 20-year-old right-hander walked three while throwing 58 of his 93 pitches for strikes and retired the final 11 batters he faced. Meisner, who struck out nine on May 8, credited a balanced approach.

"I don't think there was one particular pitch," he said. "I kept them off balance, which helped me a lot. If you keep them off balance, they're going to be guessing at what's coming. If you're able to do that, you're in control of the game, not the hitter. My fastball had good command after the first inning."

According to Meisner (3-1), the hardest part of the game was surviving a first inning in which he walked two and saw another runner reach on a fielding error by third baseman Eudor Garcia.

"When I first got out there, it wasn't looking too promising," the California native said. "I had struggled a little bit in the first inning of my last couple of outings. My pitching coach [Marc Valdes] came out and talked to me and said just throw some strikes. Once I got out of there, I just settled in."

Meisner was cited by Mets director of player development Paul DePodesta as a potential breakout prospect, noting the 2013 third-round pick's rebound from a rocky start with short-season Brooklyn last year in the New York-Penn League. So far, the selection is looking like a good one, since he's tied for fifth in the South Atlantic League with 41 strikeouts while standing seventh with a 1.93 ERA.

"I struggled a bunch last year in the beginning and I couldn't figure it out," he said. "The pitching coordinators came in one week just to visit and follow up on some stuff. They were teaching me to throw inside. They said, 'You're throwing 90 percent outside.' Throwing in and out is a big deal, because then the hitters are guessing and don't know what's coming."

Meisner's three walks were somewhat uncharacteristic, as he has only issued two free passes over his previous four starts and nine on the season.

"First inning, I was trying to paint a couple of pitches," the 6-foot-7 hurler said. "It wasn't a wild-pitch walk. The big deal is first-pitch strikes. You get that first-pitch strike, you're in control of the game. You get behind, 2-0, you have to throw your fastball over the plate and the hitter knows it."

Ben Griset allowed one hit in the eighth and David Roseboom earned his third save with a perfect ninth.

In the fifth, Jonathan Johnson tripled and scored on a wild pitch and Luis Guillorme plated the other run with a groundout.

Alec Grosser, the Braves' No. 13 prospect, was tagged with the loss after giving up two runs on one hit over five innings.