Sky Sox's Hynick derails Express

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Sky Sox's Hynick derails Express
05/24/2009 12:29 AM ET
By Mason Kelley / Special to MLB.com

At the hotel Saturday afternoon, Brandon Hynick wasn't sure if he was going to be able to take the mound. With a steady rain falling, he thought there was a good chance Colorado Springs' game against Round Rock would be postponed.
But he told himself he'd be ready if the game took place as scheduled.
After walking the first batter he faced, Hynick settled down and took a no-hitter into the seventh inning as the Sky Sox blanked the Express, 7-0.
"You've got to tell yourself not to change your mind-set," Hynick said. "Rainouts aren't always a bad thing. We play 140-some games and it's nice to take a day off. But when it's the day you pitch, you have to stay in the mind-set that you're going to play the game and that nothing is going to change.
"You can't let anything take you out of that mind-set."
Eight starts into the 2009 campaign, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound right-hander described his season as inconsistent. He allowed seven earned runs over 3 1/3 innings in his first start April 13 and followed that by allowing two hits over seven scoreless frames.
That started a trend of bad starts followed by good starts that he was finally able to end against Round Rock. After a leadoff walk to Reggie Abercrombie, Hynick used a dominant changeup and mixed in a few well-placed inside fastballs that led to plenty of weak ground balls.
"I was happy to get out there," he said. "It didn't start off too well, but I was able to work through it."
After a walk and a strikeout to open the bottom of the seventh, Hynick, MiLB.com's Class A Advanced Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2007, gave up a single to Mark Saccomanno. It was the only hit he allowed to go with three walks and four strikeouts as the former eighth-round pick boosted his record to 4-3.
"This is the first time I've put two good starts together, so I'm very happy about that," said Hynick, who has a 4.47 ERA. "I'm working hard. I'm still working a couple things, but everybody's working on something."
While the 24-year-old is pleased with his last two outings, he still wants to cut down on his walks, especially those early in innings.
"I'm just getting more comfortable with mechanics," he said. "Sometimes I think too much about mechanics instead of just throwing the ball."
Against the Express, he tried to dial in on whatever pitch catcher Paul Phillips called and, despite a steady drizzle, he churned through Round Rock hitters.
Hynick couldn't help but give an assist to the rain.
"It was a little motivation," he said. "It reinforced that I needed to get into game mode and get focused."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.