Lynchburg's Pannone extends scoreless streak

For a while Monday evening, it appeared rain would force Thomas Pannone to wait for the chance to build on his fantastic start to 2017.
"I went through my whole routine and everything I do on a game day when I'm starting, and they told us it was going to be delayed a half-hour. Then they told us another half-hour. I really thought it was going to be canceled," the Cleveland southpaw said. "I still stayed locked in mentally. I wanted to go out there and continue on what I've been doing." 
After a 90-minute delay, Pannone went to the hill and washed out the competition. The left-hander lasted seven frames to extend his scoreless-inning streak to 18 2/3, allowing three hits while striking out eight without a walk as Class A Advanced Lynchburg topped visiting Winston-Salem, 5-0.

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"Just the comfort level in itself is a big thing for me. I'm extremely comfortable with my delivery and my day-to-day work," he said. "The results have come, but once I'm out in the game, I'm just trying to attack, trying to get ahead and get the next guy in the box."
Pannone (2-0) has not allowed an earned run over 27 2/3 innings across five starts this season. He last gave up an earned run on Aug. 25, 2016, for Lynchburg against Wilmington. After hurling 13 shutout frames over his final two starts last year, he turned in five hitless innings in his first start this season.
The Rhode Island native has allowed just 10 hits while racking up 39 strikeouts and just seven walks this year. He yielded an unearned run April 12 in a win over Salem.
"Last year, I made a pretty big delivery adjustment with my lower half," Pannone said. "I developed a little bit of a bad habit where I was throwing pretty far across my body. I straightened that out late in the season, and I used the offseason to set it in stone and make it my own. I brought it to Spring Training, and it felt really good, and I carried it into the season."
Working under clear skies and mild conditions, he struck out the side in the first inning and was perfect his first time through the lineup. He shrugged off a one-out double by Ronald Bueno in the fourth and retired nine in a row after that.
"The biggest thing for me tonight -- which I didn't do in my last outing -- was getting guys in and out of the box faster than I have been. I've had longer at-bats my last couple games -- six, seven, eight pitches," Pannone said. "I wanted to limit that, get them out of the box in three or four pitches, and I did a good job of that."
Louis Silverio doubled off the left-field wall with one out in the seventh, but Pannone stayed focused.
"That was definitely the biggest moment in the game for me," the ninth-round pick in 2013 said. "I knew I was coming down in my pitch count, and I knew it was getting deep into the game. I didn't really feel any fatigue -- I felt strong in the seventh inning -- and I really wanted to get those next two guys and finish the seventh.
"I thought they'd keep me out there at least for the next guy [after the Silverio double]. I didn't think the pitch count was up there too high, because I knew I had some wiggle room [coming into the inning] and I didn't need to be too fine, but I also knew I probably couldn't give up another hit or a walk."
He fanned Aaron Schnurbusch and got Toby Thomas to fly out to center. Pannone threw 62 of 90 pitches for strikes and reliever Leandro Linares surrendered one hit and struck out three over the final two innings.
Lynchburg's Connor Marabell homered for the second consecutive game.