Gatto puts up six more zeros for 66ers

A day-by-day history of Joe Gatto's 2016 season shows that his final outing came on June 24. But really, that was when his work was just beginning. A year later, he's reaping the rewards of a trying road back.
The Angels' No. 26 prospect turned in his second straight scoreless outing with six solid innings and No. 2 prospect Jahmai Jones extended his hitting streak to 18 games Tuesday as Class A Advanced Inland Empire blanked Lake Elsinore, 2-0, at The Diamond.

Following the 2015 season, Gatto was the Angels' second-ranked prospect. After 2016, he was 12th. In between, the right-hander underwent a metamorphosis of sorts. He slumped to a 3-8 record and 7.03 ERA in 15 starts for Class A Burlington last year and battled command and control issues before being sent back to the Angels' complex in Arizona to tear things down and start over.
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"I don't think anyone really looks forward to going down or anything like that," he said. "At first, it kind of hit home in a bad spot, but at the end of the day, the organization's looking out for you in the best way. You just have to make the most of it in that situation. I just went down there with a positive mind-set that these guys were doing it for the betterment of my career in the long run.
"I just went at it with a positive attitude, worked hard, did what they asked me to do and, at the end of the day, they were right with what they thought was the right thing to do. I'm in a good spot now and I feel comfortable and a lot more confident than I did last year at this time."
Gatto returned to the mound this spring and found far better results in Burlington, going 5-7 with a 3.46 ERA in 21 starts to earn his first promotion to the California League.
"I had a little struggle of a season last year, hit a reset button and started off this year on the right foot," he said. "I think it just continued into the season here. My pitching coaches and everyone in the organization helped me out through certain things I needed to work on to get myself to where I could put myself in the best situation to win ballgames and help my teams win. Lately up here, it's been just executing the pitches when I need to and letting my defense work behind me."
After allowing seven runs -- three earned -- over 2 2/3 innings in his Inland Empire debut on Aug. 5 at San Jose, Gatto (1-1) spun six scoreless innings five days later against Lake Elsinore.

"I kind of had a wakeup call my first game up here against San Jose," the 22-year-old said. "It was a little bit of first-game nerves and a mixture of not knowing what to expect from these hitters up here, but I was able to make the adjustment my last outing and carry it into this one. It's just been that I've got to execute my pitches more often.
"Not knocking low-A hitters or anything like that, but here, if you don't execute what you need to execute, they're going to hit the ball. Even tonight I got away with some pitches that I didn't execute well on these guys, kind of missed a little bit. As you go up, it's not going to be that luxurious to where if you miss a pitch, they're not going to hit it. That's been the thing for me."
Facing the Storm for the second time, Gatto solved them again. The right-hander gave up three hits and two walks, striking out five while inducing a pair of double plays and allowing just one runner past first base.
"I rely heavily on my defense," he said. "Most games, I'm not a high strikeout guy; I produce ground balls. That's kind of my thing. I try not to get out of that, try not to do too much when it comes to strikeouts and stuff. Strikeouts will come. You just have to pitch to your abilities. My defense knows I'll get them ground balls."
As Gatto extended his scoreless streak, Jones did the same at the plate in his first chance. The 66ers center fielder doubled to right field leading off the opening inning and added a walk in the third and bunt single in the fifth. 
"It's been something awesome to watch," Gatto said. "I've been with 'Jam' for the last whole season in Burlington and here and I've known Jahmai since he was drafted in this organization. He's a great kid and what he's doing right now is special. It's good to have him on the team. Whenever he leads off a game, whether it be a home run or a single, he's just a spark plug. You can count on him when the times are rough to come up with a clutch hit."
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Jones' streak matches the fifth-longest in the Cal League this year and lifted the 20-year-old's slash line to .333/.386/.486 in 25 games with Inland Empire.
Following Gatto's departure, Winston Lavendier and Sean Isaac combined for three perfect innings to complete the 66ers' sixth shutout. Isaac struck out three and recorded his first Cal League save.
Storm starter Emmanuel Ramirez fell to 1-1 after yielding a run on eight hits and three walks with seven strikeouts over seven innings.