Gonsalves unleashes slider in Miracle win

Stephen Gonsalves likes having options on the mound, so when he realized his fastball command wasn't there on Tuesday, he dug into his repertoire.

"I just couldn't really locate my fastball tonight, which was a little surprising early," the Twins' sixth-ranked prospect said. "But I was able to work off my changeup for maybe 25 percent of my pitches to get ahead in the count and then get some swing-and-misses off my slider."

The 21-year-old southpaw gave up two hits and two walks over six scoreless frames for Class A Advanced Fort Myers on Tuesday night in a 9-1 romp over Jupiter at Roger Dean Stadium. He took a no-hitter into his final inning and ended up striking out six.

"I faced these guys last week and had a similar outing," Gonsalves said. "I got to see how they react to each pitch, so I knew some of the weaknesses, like how they couldn't really see the changeup coming out of my hand."

In that April 19 start, Gonsalves allowed two hits, including a home run, over seven innings in a no-decision. And he did so by holding something back.

"I was able to use the slider tonight to keep them guessing because I wasn't really throwing that to them last week," he said. "It's a pitch I worked on a lot in the offseason."

His newest weapon also became a big reason for his recent success -- he's yielded one run over the last 24 innings and ranks 10th in the Florida State League with a 1.44 ERA.

"I've just been able to locate every pitch well tonight and really all season," said Gonsalves, who threw 13 first-pitch strikes to the 23 batters he faced Tuesday. "It's just nice to get ahead and have the ability to pick through four pitches and play around a little."

The 2013 fourth-rounder said he wanted to add the slider to his arsenal to complement an already polished curveball, but harnessing the pitch needed a fine touch and delicate technique.

"There are a couple of pitching coaches teaching me different grips and a few other guys showing me how it works," Gonsalves said. "I just had to find out what worked for me and try not to break my wrist throwing it because you shouldn't throw it exactly like a curveball and make it break all the way across. I just needed a few inches of movement to resemble a fastball and so far, the slider has been a good pitch for me."

Raul Fernandez relieved Gonsalves in the seventh and allowed a run on three hits with four strikeouts in two innings. Brian Gilbert worked a scoreless ninth to finish off Fort Myers' third straight win.

Alex Swim collected three hits for the Miracle, while Twins No. 4 prospect Nick Gordon and Ryan Walker each had two. All three drove in a run.