Buxton's walk-off eclipses Flores' big day

The Chattanooga Lookouts had no answers for Jacksonville Suns starter Kendry Flores throughout his dominant outing. Once they had him out of the way, the Lookouts' marquee name came to the rescue.

Flores allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out five over eight shutout innings, but Minnesota's top prospect Byron Buxton came through against the Jacksonville bullpen in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off homer to give his team a 2-0 win.

Acquired by the Marlins in the December trade that sent Casey McGehee to the Giants, Flores continued to make a good early impression on his new organization. Five days after pitching into the eighth in a loss against Birmingham, the righty picked up where he left off.

Flores faced the minimum through his first six innings with the help of his defense. The Suns turned a double play off No. 13 Twins prospect Adam Walker II's bat to end the second inning, and catcher Sharif Othman caught Levi Michael attempting to steal second base after he was hit by a pitch with one out in the fourth.

"First of all, it was great tempo," Jacksonville pitching coach Derek Botelho said. "[Flores] worked ahead of hitters. He had all his pitches working with his fastball, changeup, curveball and cutter and had a great mix going. Him and Sharif did an outstanding job. Very few times did [Flores] shake [him off]."

Miami's No. 12 prospect hadn't pitched into the eighth inning since an Aug. 21, 2013 start with Class A Augusta, but the 23-year-old worked around Dalton Hicks' two-out walk in the seventh and retired the side in order in the eighth to finish his night. It marked the second straight start in which Flores pitched past the seventh.

"I think it's outstanding for him," Botelho said. "He had a great outing last game where he made one bad pitch in the eighth, and it was hit for a two-run home run to right field -- right-handed hitter on a fastball away. We lost that ballgame, 2-1, another quick-paced game. He had all pitches working again."

That April 29 start against the Barons resulted in Flores' third consecutive loss, despite cutting his ERA from 4.11 to 3.57. He dropped it to 2.64 on Monday.

"I actually told him last game I'm going to get him a rabbit's foot, something for good luck. It's been two back-to-back games, and he's got an 'L' and a no-decision to show for it," Botelho said. "He's a real quiet kid and he pitches with a lot of intensity, a lot of focus, a lot of concentration. He very hardly speaks. He communicates well with his teammates and stuff, but he gets after it on work days and doesn't say a whole lot."

Chattanooga relievers D.J. Baxendale and D.J. Johnson matched Flores through eight scoreless innings, and Jacksonville's starter departed having thrown 60 of his 90 pitches for strikes.

That move set the stage for Buxton. Hitless through his first three at-bats, MLB.com's top overall prospect came to the plate with Carlos Paulino at second base. The Southern League's reigning Offensive Player of the Week connected on a 2-1 pitch from Suns reliever Casey McCarthy and sent it out to left field to give the Lookouts their fourth straight win and the second consecutive victory in their last at-bat.

The homer continued an eight-game hitting streak for Buxton that has boosted the outfielder's average to .286. Buxton is batting .455 (15-for-33) with two doubles, four triples, a homer and 12 runs scored over the streak.

McCarthy (0-1) recorded just one out in the ninth. Zack Jones (1-0) pitched around two hits in the top of the ninth with two strikeouts to pick up the win.