Maine: no runs, no hits & nearly perfect

http://www.frederickkeys.com/2003scores/fre7030.html


SO WHAT if it was only 7 innings.

I'm just pissed that I couldn't get to W-S until Friday night.

If any of you people were lucky enough to go, hope it was as impressive as the box score reads.

 

They just showed video of his final 2 pitches tonight on WXII in Winston-Salem. He was very calm afterwards, his teammates were the ones more excited about it.

Good doubleheader, the Warthogs pitcher threw a one-hitter in the first game tonight.

 

Maine no-hits Hogs as Keys gain split, Hogs' Francisco hurls 1-hitter in opener
By John Dell, Winston-Salem Journal Reporter

On a night when pitching ruled at Ernie Shore Field, Frederick's John Maine was nearly perfect.

Maine, a former pitcher at Charlotte, had a seven-inning no-hitter in the second game of a doubleheader as the Keys beat the Winston-Salem Warthogs 3-0. In the first game, Franklin Francisco of the Warthogs was untouchable, pitching a one-hitter on the way to a 2-0 victory.

As it turned out, the only fireworks came after the game was over as the near-capacity crowd of 4,005 watched two pitchers dominate.

'I don't know when the last time I threw a no-hitter - I guess maybe in Little League,' said Maine, a 6-2 right-hander who was the Baltimore Orioles' sixth-round draft pick in 2002. 'I was just aggressive and I let them hit the ball.'

While Maine says he let the Warthogs hit the ball, they didn't do much of that against his over-powering fastball and changeup.

'I got my changeup over the plate for strikes,' said Maine, making just his second start for the Keys after spending the first half of the season in Delmarva in lower Class A, where he went 7-3.

The only offense the Keys needed came in the second inning when Mike Huggins laced the first pitch from starter Heath Phillips over the left-field wall for a home run. They Keys added two more runs in the fourth with help from Phillips, who was called for a questionable balk with runners on first and second.

Manager Razor Shines of the Warthogs argued the call, but to no avail and after four innings the Keys led 3-0.

If not for an error in the first inning by Huggins at first base on a spinning ground ball off the bat of Mike Spidale, Maine would have had a perfect game. Maine threw 81 pitches, struck out seven and was throwing as hard in the seventh inning as he was in the first.

The Keys started last night last in the Carolina League in pitching with a hefty 5.20 ERA, but with Maine around that's likely to change.

'All I want to do is throw some quality starts out there,' Maine said. 'So I hope I can stay in the rotation.'

In the first game, Francisco stole the show. He pitched all seven innings, struck out seven and needed just 84 pitches as he improved to 6-3.

Shortstop Mike Morse hit a solo home run off losing pitcher Rommie Lewis in the first inning and Francisco took it from there.

'I can say yes, it was my best stuff,' said Francisco, 23, who is from the Dominican Republic and is in his seventh year of pro baseball. 'My change up was working and everything was working.'

The only hit he allowed came in the third inning when catcher Raul Martinez hit a seeing-eye single to right field. Second baseman Ruddy Yan just missed it.

In the fifth Yan had a rare error on a ball hit by Alex Gordon with one out, but Francisco got out of that jam with a strikeout and a groundout.

'What can you say, he was absolutely special,' Shines said of Francisco. 'He was a foot away from a no-hitter, he was that good. I thought he was as dominate tonight as I've seen all year.'

In previous starts, Francisco has had trouble remaining focused when things went wrong, according to Shines. But that wasn't the case last night.

'After Mike Morse jump-started us with that home run it was like Frank said 'That's all I need' and he was on,' Shines said. 'It was unbelievable and it's something J.R. (Perdew, the pitching coach) has been working with him all year. He stayed focused.'

In the fourth inning with two outs, Huggins walked on four pitches and then on Cory Keylor the count went to 2-0. But a visit from Perdew calmed Francisco down and he proceeded to throw three strikes to retire Keylor swinging.

'He had all three pitches going with his fastball, changeup and curve so he didn't leave much out there,' Perdew said. 'Like Razor said, he kept his focus. He has all the tools so when he keeps his focus like that he's going to be something else.'

 

I also kinda liked the quote off of Baseball America's Prospect Report that I was e-mailed today.........

BAL J.Maine....................this just in - he's good

 

Went to W-S Friday night and spent a few minutes talking with John.

While I was impressed that he remembered my son from baseball camp last summer (& even posed for picture)........I was even more impressed with how laid back he was about his accomplishments, so far. Of course, he's got his eye of something bigger than his current achievements.