Ponies' Conlon rebounds with another shutout

One of the most important things P.J. Conlon has learned in baseball is to have a short memory.
It came in handy again on Wednesday.
For the second time this season, the Mets' No. 22 prospect followed a start in which he surrenderd five earned runs with a seven-inning shutout. This time, Conlon pitched a three-hitter and struck out three as Double-A Binghamton beat Richmond, 1-0, in the first game of a doubleheader at The Diamond.

Gameday box score
"You can't really dwell on poor performances and you can't really dwell on really good performances because you're going to get thrown out there again before you know it," he said. "It doesn't matter what you did the time before, so I just take that mentality into each start."
After getting the first batter he faced to ground out, Conlon gave up a single to Giants No. 14 prospect C.J. Hinojosa and a double to No. 29 prospect Miguel Gómez.
"You just kind of go into survival mode when that happens and do whatever you can to keep those runs from crossing home plate," he said. "You've got to think strike one, strike two first. And if you get that far, then you obviously want to put them away or try to get weak contact, a popup, anything."
The 23-year-old left-hander got Slade Heathcott and Giants No. 28 prospect Hunter Cole to fly out to left field before stranding two more runners in the second.
From there, Conlon tossed five perfect innings, throwing 17 pitches or fewer in each frame.
"As the game got deeper, my fastball was still working really well," the 2015 13th-round pick said. "It still had good movement and I was able to command it and throw the changeup, slider and curveball off that. It just worked out well. I was just able to attack the strike zone and get them to put the ball in play and hit it at some guys."

Conlon totaled 95 pitches, 64 strikes, en route to his Minor League-leading second shutout. The other was a one-hitter against New Hampshire on May 6.
"I think the common theme of when I pitch well is my fastball command and being able to throw strikes with all my other pitches," he said. "I think I was able to do that again today and just keep guys off-balance, keep guys guessing and putting pitches where I want them to, and the results showed up."
The University of San Diego product, who posted a Minor League-best 1.65 ERA in 23 starts across two levels last season, improved to 5-2 and lowered his ERA to 3.02.
In the nightcap, Donovan Hand followed Conlon's with a rain-shortened shutout. The 31-year-old right-hander gave up two hits and a walk while striking out two over six innings to beat the Flying Squirrels, 5-0.

"He one-upped me," Conlon joked. "But that was awesome to see. We got two good wins today."
Rehabbing Mets shortstop Asdrúbal Cabrera went 2-for-5 while playing 10 innings across the doubleheader for Binghamton.