Resurgent Gil sharp in one-hit 'Cats outing

Yean Carlos Gil's first run with Class A Advanced Carolina to open the season did not go well, so by late June, he was sent down a level.

But in just his second game since being called back up from Class A Rome, Gil put together his best performance for the Mudcats, allowing just one hit over seven innings to help Carolina to a 7-0 win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

"He was aggressive early in the count with a lot of first-pitch strikes," said Carolina pitching coach Derrick Lewis. "He was on the attack and wasn't trying to be too fine. He threw all his pitches for strikes -- fastball, curveball and changeup. He was just really aggressive early and then got ahead."

The left-hander managed to throw first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 22 batters he faced on the night, striking out six and inducing nine ground-ball outs. He didn't issue any walks.

In the second inning, Gil (2-9) yielded a single to Keith Curcio, but got next batter Cam Gallagher to ground into a double play. That started a run of 10 straight outs before Alfredo Escalera-Maldonado reached on a wild pitch after striking out to lead off the sixth.

That was the last batter the Venezuela native allowed to get aboard. He set down the next six Wilmington hitters before departing with a 1-0 lead courtesy of Jose Briceno. The No. 25 Braves prospect belted a second-inning homer, his fourth of the season.

"Going into [the seventh], we had pretty much already made the decision that it would be his last inning," said Lewis. "That was pretty much already set."

After going 1-9 with a 6.39 ERA to start the season with Carolina, Gil started to regain his stuff in Rome. The 24-year-old threw two complete games for the Braves -- a five-hit shutout against Charleston on July 6 and a four-hitter on Aug. 14 in his final appearance with Rome before the promotion.

In his first start back with the Mudcats on Aug. 19, he picked up the victory over Wilmington. Despite the fact that Gil allowed five runs on nine hits, Lewis noticed that his hurler was more focused this time around.

"He threw the ball well there," said Lewis. "Mainly, just once he got on a good roll (in Rome), it was just bringing that same confidence here and keep it going. All you can do is continue to throw quality pitches, it doesn't matter where you are."

After Gil threw his 90th and final pitch of the night, the Mudcats piled on some insurance, capping a six-run seventh inning with a two-RBI single by Dustin Peterson. Atlanta's No. 15 prospect finished the night 4-for-4 with two doubles.

Matthew Strahm (1-5) took the hard-luck loss after allowing a run on three hits with nine strikeouts over five innings for the Blue Rocks.