Jupiter's Rogers cruises in six scoreless
Trevor Rogers had thrown 97 pitches when Hammerheads manager Todd Pratt emerged from the visiting dugout at CenturyLink Sports Complex. There were two outs in the bottom of the sixth, and Lewin Diaz was on second base after Rogers hit the Miracle first baseman with his 92nd pitch. The tying
Trevor Rogers had thrown 97 pitches when Hammerheads manager Todd Pratt emerged from the visiting dugout at CenturyLink Sports Complex. There were two outs in the bottom of the sixth, and Lewin Diaz was on second base after Rogers hit the Miracle first baseman with his 92nd pitch. The tying run stood on deck. Relief waited warm in the bullpen.
But the starting pitcher spoke before the manager could reach for the baseball. He wanted one more batter. Pratt made Rogers aware of the triple digits that neared.
"I don't care," Rogers told the manager. "I want to go get this guy."
Pratt walked away, and Rogers froze No. 14 Twins prospectJose Miranda with his 104th pitch to end the sixth inning of Class A Advanced Jupiter's 8-0 win over Fort Myers. Miami's No. 15 prospect walked two, plunked one and struck out nine over six one-hit frames, falling one punchout short of his season high. It was his second scoreless outing in 10 starts for the Hammerheads, and his ERA fell to 3.02.
Gameday box score
"I think I really had a three-pitch mix today," Rogers said. "My slider was really, really consistent today. My changeup was on today; I haven't had my changeup my last few starts. And I executed the fastball early so I can get my off-speed."
Both of the left-hander's walks came with two outs in the first inning. He then got Aaron Whitefield to ground out on his way to retiring 12 consecutive batters. Michael Helman's two-out double in the fifth, the Miracle's only hit off Rogers (2-6), marked Fort Myers' next baserunner. Rogers got David Banuelos to pop out to end the threat.
His final matchup -- the one he asked for -- was a battle. He got ahead, 1-2, before Miranda worked the count full. The third baseman fouled off a sixth pitch, but Rogers fired another fastball for a strike, up and out but still over the plate where catcher Nick Fortes called for it. Miranda went down looking.
The 21-year-old got to that point by making an adjustment after his two-walk first. He'd tried to be too perfect, he said. His motion toward the plate was too rotational and not as front-to-back as pitching coach Reid Cornelius teaches.
"I really thought about my mechanics and had to really stay on my back side going down the slope," Rogers said. "It's paid dividends. I'm hitting both sides of the plate consistently and I feel smoother out there on the mound."
It's an approach that has helped erase some of the inconsistencies Rogers displayed in his first pro season. After the Marlins shut down the 2017 first-round pick in what would have been his debut summer, he posted a 5.82 ERA in Class A Greensboro in 2018, despite striking out 85 and walking 27.
The ability to command the strike zone is still there; Rogers has fanned 65 and walked 19 this year. But the ability to do more in that strike zone is what's changed. He throws his breaking pitches for strikes. And the payoff has been two or fewer earned runs allowed in seven of 11 starts this season.
"It's all about trust and confidence," he said. "If you don't have either one of those, it's probably going to be a long day."
The Hammerheads supported Rogers with RBI singles from Angel Reyes and Gunnar Schubert in the fifth, both at the expense of Miracle starter Edwar Colina (3-2). Demetrius Sims added a run-scoring knock in the eighth before Fortes broke the game open with a grand slam off Calvin Faucher.
Alejandro Mateo and Cason Sherrod combined to strike out six over the final three frames.
Joe Bloss is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @jtbloss.
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