Dunshee cruises in RockHounds' shutout

It was a smooth-sailing Sunday for Parker Dunshee. 
The A's No. 27 prospect allowed two hits and struck out nine over 7 1/3 innings, pitching Double-A Midland to a 2-0 win over Arkansas at Dickey-Stephens Park. 

"It felt good," Dunshee said. "It felt like my fastball command was there today and I was able to work it up and down and elevate it with two strikes, which is a big key for me. I felt like I was landing my off-speed pitches for strikes and I was getting them to chase in some hitters' counts, so I felt pretty much in control the whole outing." 
Dunshee (5-3) retired his first 14 batters before top Mariners prospect Kyle Lewis singled to right field in the fifth inning.
"I was kind of upset, and we talked about it after the inning, because it probably wasn't the right pitch selection," Dunshee said. "I had some success with some other pitches against him and I threw a slow breaking ball ... that really wasn't the way I wanted to end the perfect game, but it happens. At the end of the day, I still pitched really well and felt really good." 
Gameday box score
The 6-foot-1 right-hander worked around a two-out walk to Dario Pizzano in the seventh, then was lifted in the eighth after walking Logan Taylor and striking out Joseph Odom. Kyle Finnegan induced an inning-ending double play to preserve the shutout. 
Since being promoted to the Texas League on June 13, Dunshee sports a 2.29 ERA in nine starts. He went 6-2 with a 2.70 ERA over 70 innings for Class A Advanced Stockton to start the season in the hitter-friendly California League. The 2017 seventh-round pick dominated in the New York-Penn League for Class A Short Season Vermont last summer, throwing 38 1/3 scoreless innings in 12 games, including nine starts.
Dunshee hasn't deviated from his pitching philosophy since joining the A's, something he credits for his success. 
"I'm just trying to do the same thing at those two levels that I'm doing here," he said. "Just fill up the zone with a bunch of strikes and let the defense work behind and giving them help by working pretty quick and getting ahead of guys, working ahead and put the team in a position to get back into the dugout and score some runs." 
Dunshee lacks elite velocity with his fastball sitting between 89-92 mph, but the Wake Forest product is well-regarded for his pitch sequencing and command, according to MLB Pipeline. 

"I try not to beat myself as much as possible," he said. "Even if they hit me around a little bit, I know if I fill up the zone I'm going to have a pretty good chance at minimizing the damage by executing pitches and try to control those big innings, trying to make them as small as possible." 
Finnegan worked in and out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth, striking out Lewis to nail down his eighth save and finish off the RockHounds' fourth shutout of the season.
A's No. 12 prospect Richie Martin staked Dunshee to an early lead with an RBI single in the second and 19th-ranked Eli White doubled and scored an insurance run in the third.
Arkansas starter Nathan Bannister fell to 7-9 after allowing two runs on five hits and a walk with one strikeout over seven innings.