Fisher Cats' Reid-Foley racks up 12 K's

Sean Reid-Foley glanced at the scoreboard as he walked toward the dugout to get a look at his final pitching line on Friday night. What he saw came as a minor shock.
"I looked up whenever I was getting taken out and saw the number [of strikeouts]," he said. "It was kind of surprising, but I would just say it was one of those nights where everything was working."
Toronto' s No. 2 prospect tied a career high with 12 punchouts over 6 2/3 frames in Double-A New Hampshire's 5-1 victory over Trenton on Friday at ARM & HAMMER Park. The right-hander allowed a run on four hits and two walks to help the Fisher Cats snap a 15-game skid against the Thunder.

After retiring the side in order in the first, Reid-Foley (7-7) surrendered three hits in the second. He gave up singles to Billy Fleming, Abiatal Avelino and Jhalan Jackson that allowed Trenton to score its only run. The 21-year-old got Devyn Bolasky to fly out and fanned Francisco Diaz to end the frame.
Gameday box score
"They strung together a couple of hits and I just tried to minimize the damage," Reid-Foley said. "It worked out for me because I only gave out one run."
MLB.com's No. 52 overall prospect set down 12 of 14 batters with eight strikeouts between the third and sixth. Though he added two more whiffs in the seventh, a walk to Jackson and a single by Diaz chased him from the game. The 2014 second-round pick departed after throwing 71 of 99 pitches for strikes.
"It was definitely a good night from [the command] standpoint," Reid-Foley said. "[Catcher Danny Jansen] just put down whatever and I had the confidence to throw it over the plate."

The Florida high school product moved into fourth in the Eastern League with 85 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings, nine behind Hartford's Ryan Castellani in 21 fewer frames. Though Reid-Foley had fanned seven over 16 1/3 innings over his previous three starts, he said there was no need to press for more swings and misses.
"I'm trying to go deep into the games and help the bullpen out and keep it close," he said. "Strikeouts come when they come and it's never actually been a focus."

Reid-Foley last struck out 12 on June 16, 2016, with Class A Advanced Dunedin against Clearwater.
"It was just one of those nights where everything was working," the Florida native said.
• Get tickets to a Fisher Cats game
Making a rehab appearance while recovering from a broken wrist, Blue Jays No. 3 prospect Anthony Alford contributed a double and scored a run, while No. 30 prospect Ryan McBroom cracked a two-run homer and scored twice.
Trenton starter Brody Koerner (2-2) surrendered five runs on nine hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 3 2/3 frames.