Reid-Foley unhittable in first Dunedin win

It was the first hitless start of Sean Reid-Foley's young career, but it was also a bit of news that escaped the right-hander on Friday.

"I didn't know it was a no-hitter until after the game, when Dickie [Joe Thon] told me," he said, referring to his second baseman. "I was like, 'Oh, yeah, I had a no-hitter?' And Dickie was like, 'Yeah, how did you not know?'"

The Blue Jays' No. 4 prospect, in his defense, worked with five runners on base Friday but nonetheless took a no-hitter into the sixth inning to earn his first Florida State League win as Class A Advanced Dunedin topped Brevard County, 4-1.

Reid-Foley (1-4) struck out six and walked four, facing 19 batters over 5 1/3 hitless innings, before Brady Dragmire, Arik Sikula and Wil Browning finished off the three-hitter.

"Just established the fastball for strikes and kept doing everything that Vince [Horsman] and Jeff [Ware] and whoever told me all year," Reid-Foley said, referring to his current and former pitching coaches at Dunedin and Class A Lansing. "Pound the zone with the fastball."

The 19-year-old used a double play to erase a hit batter in the first inning and retired seven straight into the fourth before walking Omar Garcia. Garcia swiped second for his 43rd stolen base, but Reid-Foley struck out 2012 first-round pick Clint Coulter and Garrett Cooper to end the inning. 

Reid-Foley benefited from another double play in the fifth after walking Taylor Brennan with one out before wiggling out of trouble in the sixth, when he walked two batters and threw a wild pitch. Dragmire came on with runners on first and second and one out, then struck out McFarland and Coulter to keep the no-hit bid alive.

Major League veteran Robinzon Diaz picked up the Manatees' first hit an inning later when he singled to center with out one.

Reid-Foley said he threw 85 pitches and still felt good in the sixth but attributed his trouble in that inning to some mechanics.

"I started going side to side in my delivery," he explained. "We've been working on it since probably the instructs last year, but basically it's getting better."

The 2014 second-round pick said he has a tendency to change his body's momentum off the mound when delivering a pitch, an issue he and the Blue Jays are well aware of and have worked to correct this summer.

"I just need to get my whole body and its momentum going forward instead of letting my whole body turn away from home and getting around the ball," he said.

Reid-Foley was drafted out of Sandalwood High School in nearby Jacksonville, Florida. He began the season with Lansing, pitching in the same league as his brother, Great Lakes right-hander David Reid-Foley, going 3-3 with a 3.48 ERA and 79 strikeouts over 54 1/3 innings in 15 starts. He made his Dunedin debut on July 5, when he gave up two hits over five scoreless innings against Lakeland. Since then, he's held opponents to three earned runs or fewer in five of his seven starts. 

"I mean, it's fun, especially being around different guys and seeing how everyone is. It's a learning experience," Reid-Foley said. "That's what I can really take away from it is everyone, when I'm doing bad, everyone is always there to be encouraging. They'll say, 'Don't worry about it, we got it.' That's how it was in Lansing, too, but this whole year has been fun to pitch. I've had great teammates."

Dunedin gave its starter a lead in the second on Derrick Loveless' two-run homer, his seventh, before Jorge Saez delivered a two-run single in the fourth. Brevard County's lone run came in the seventh when Rafael Neda plated Diaz with a sacrifice fly.

"It was great. Our team has been hitting the ball, but you get unlucky sometimes, it's hit right at people. So tonight, it was nice," Reid-Foley said.

He also said he wasn't concerned with getting his first FSL win.

"I'm not thinking about that, I'm just trying to go out every day and get better with Vince, with whoever I'm working with, trying to keep moving up," he said.