Dash's Stephens strikes with two-seamer

On Tuesday, Jordan Stephens learned a new pitch. On Wednesday, he debuted it in style.

The No. 13 White Sox prospect struck out a career-high nine while scattering three hits and four walks over six innings en route to the Class A Advanced Winston-Salem Dash's 4-3 victory over the Wilmington Blue Rocks. It was that new wrinkle in his repertoire that keyed his performance.

"[Pitching coach Jose Bautista] taught me a different grip on my two-seam," Stephens said. "I was able to get a lot more movement on it, especially downward movement. I just learned it yesterday -- this is my first time throwing it -- and it was able to translate pretty well."

The 23-year-old faced Wilmington two starts ago on June 4, and he allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while fanning five over 6 1/3 innings. The Blue Rocks are batting .241 as a team with the second-most strikeouts in the Carolina League, and they seemed to be baffled by Stephens' new offering 11 days after facing him on the road.

"I think it was definitely a surprise, especially early in the game," he said. "I threw about 70 percent fastballs. Got a few strikeouts inside to lefties, and our catcher [Chris O'Dowd] did a good job of doubling up on the fastball. Usually after I get strike one, I go to the breaking pitch."

Even though he didn't factor in the decision in that June 4 start against Wilmington, Stephens (2-7) did get a blueprint for success from it.

"For the most part, they're aggressive fastball hitters," he said. "Once you get that first strike, they tend to back off. Late in the game, they chase more. Once you get ahead of them, you can get them to chase the slider in the dirt."

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound right-hander cruised through his first three innings, allowing two baserunners and striking out four. He walked a batter in each of his final three innings, a rarity for a pitcher who had walked a total of eight batters in his past seven starts.

"It was a lot of trying not to give up that multiple-run home run," Stephens said of the free passes. "I was trying to be too cautious at times, and some of it was working on the two-seam pitch. Once I got reminded to stay in front with it and the movement will come, that helped me control it better."

Stephens worked around runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth, and he struck out the final four batters he retired to close out his night. The 2015 fifth-round pick utilized a career-high 93 pitches in the outing.

"Once I got to the fifth inning, I knew that I had about 20 pitches to work with," he said. "The last thing I need to do is get a run on the board, and I just really tried to attack everybody."

After recording an out in the fifth inning just once in his first six starts and starting the season 0-4, Stephens has allowed 16 earned runs over 40 2/3 innings in his last seven outings, going 2-3 with a 3.54 ERA with 40 strikeouts over that span. After working out of the bullpen for Rookie-level Great Falls and the Arizona League White Sox in 2015, he is starting to thrive in his first year in full-season ball.

"In the beginning, I had a lot of strike-zone issues," the Houston native said. "The [umps] weren't giving me the outside corner, and I was just trying to figure out where the zone was at this level because once you get ahead, good things happen."

And good things have been happening of late for Stephens.

"I just proved to myself it works if I throw it right," he said. "Just locating it low and bringing back the four-seam, especially if I got an 0-2 count -- I did that a few times. They either watched it or swung right through it after seeing the two-seam since it was a few mph slower. I was glad they taught me the two-seam and I'm real excited about it."

Manny Martinez delivered two scoreless innings in relief of Stephens, but Colin Kleven allowed three runs on two hits and a walk in the bottom of the ninth. Danny Dopico came in with the bases loaded and retired the final two batters to close out his second save.

Mason Robbins doubled twice while Hunter Jones plated one run and scored another for the Dash, who snapped a five-game losing streak.

Wilmington leadoff man Cody Jones reached four times -- twice ripping two-baggers against Stephens.

Zach Lovvorn (0-7) took the loss after giving up two runs -- one earned -- on eight hits over seven innings. He struck out six.