Brown sparkles in finest start for Hillcats

For a player not focused on his results, Mitch Brown sure had some nice ones Wednesday.

The Indians' No. 12 prospect took a no-hitter into the eighth inning as the Class A Advanced Lynchburg defeated Salem, 6-2.

Brown (2-6) struck out five batters and issued four walks. The 21-year-old right-hander retired 16 straight, a stretch that ended when he walked Sam Travis to start the seventh.

"I think I just struggled a little bit early on with my fastball command," Brown said. "I went to my offspeed pitches, to get my release point back and got ahead with them. From there, I found my stride with my fastball command and I was able to command that pretty well."

Jordan Betts ended his quest for history, leading off the eighth with a double against the Hillcats hurler.

"We had success in early at-bats against that guy with some sliders," Brown said. "We used that early on and then went to the fastball and came back to the slider. It was a great at-bat for him, he fouled off some tough pitches. Made some swings to stay in the at-bat. Good pitch, good execution, just a better swing."

The Minnesota native followed by striking out Deiner Lopez to ending the longest start of his career, eclipsing a seven-inning outing May 16 against Wilmington.

"It's a good feeling," he said. "[Pitching coach] Tony [Arnold] and I did a lot of work in between starts. We made some subtle adjustments and to see that hard work pay off was very gratifying."

Brown snapped a five-game losing streak, lowering his ERA to 5.37 in the process. While the numbers haven't been there for the 2012 second-round pick this season, he's not concerned with the numbers.

"I've been more process-oriented, and as cliche as it seems, work on the little things," he said. "I try not to focus on the stats. They're not ideal, but to just continue to improve on certain things is key for me. If I can do that, I think it's going to go a long way towards success.

"I would say fastball command is something I need to continue to improve on. Getting ahead, that allows me to open up my arsenal and let me be a little more aggressive in the punchout category. That and just being [in rhythm]. A little bit more tempo, a little more athleticism. Trust my body and use my athleticism."

Robbie Aviles took over for Brown, giving up two runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings to earn his second save.

Clint Frazier, the Indians' No. 2 prospect, went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored while No. 27 Nellie Rodriguez had two RBIs for the Hillcats.

Betts finished with two doubles and drove in a run for the Red Sox.