Springfield's Gomber wins sixth straight start

It was getting late early for Austin Gomber, who knew he was throwing a no-hitter as he took the mound in the seventh inning.
The Cardinals' No. 15 prospect also realized the importance of his start on Saturday night, which represented an opportunity to put his club into playoff position with less than 10 games remaining in the regular season.

Gomber took a no-hitter into the seventh as Double-A Springfield defeated Tulsa, 8-3, at Hammons Field. The 23-year-old left-hander yielded one run on two hits with two walks and a tied a season high with nine strikeouts over seven frames. The win also pushed the Cardinals one game ahead of the second-place Drillers in the Texas League North Division second-half race.

Gomber (10-7) has won six straight decisions with an 0.89 ERA in that span. Over his last 40 2/3 innings, he has surrendered just 14 hits with 11 walks and 38 punchouts.
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"Obviously, it's been a fun little run that I've been on. That's always the case when you're having success," the Florida Atlantic University product said. "We made some changes earlier this season and it took some time to take hold, but I stayed positive and knew it would turn. Now I'm seeing the results and I've been consistent, which is what I'm accustomed to.
"My plan is to always attack and once I get the batter to two strikes, I'll try for the strikeout. [Catcher and Cardinals No. 28 prospect Andrew Knizner] did a really great job of helping me mix up my pitches tonight. Some games are better than others, but if you go out and execute, good things usually happen."

Gomber was perfect through three before issuing walks to Dodgers No. 18 prospectDrew Jackson and Erick Mejia to begin the fourth. The 2014 fourth-round pick responded by setting down the next nine batters before Matt Beaty doubled to center leading off the seventh. Dodgers fifth-ranked prospect Yusniel Díaz stroked a one-out RBI single, but Gomber whiffed  Peter O'Brien and Johan Mieses to complete at least seven innings for the 10th time this season.

"I knew what was going on [with the no-hitter], but it really wasn't in my head," Gomber said. "As you get into the sixth or seventh inning, it's getting later, but it's also early and there's a lot of work to be done. I wasn't too concerned with it at that point. But we have great fans here and after I gave up that leadoff double, they stood up and gave me a nice ovation. I appreciated that. 
"But after that, it was just back to work and trying to get the next guy. This game meant a lot for us. We were tied with them with just 10 games left, so it's my job to go out there and give my team the best chance to win. These are the most important games of the year right now. So in my mind, I was trying to get through that inning and save our bullpen." 
Cardinals No. 19 prospect Eliezer Álvarez tied his career high with four hits and fell a home run shy of the cycle. Jacob Wilson and Knizner hit two-run homers. Gomber added an RBI single during Springfield's three-run fourth, his seventh hit in 15 at-bats this season.
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Third-ranked Dodgers prospect Yadier Álvarez (1-2) allowed five runs and five hits with three walks and three strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings in his fifth start for Tulsa.