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Reed tosses two scoreless in debut 08/25/2011 3:20 AM ETBy David Heck / Special to MLB.com
So far, so good for Chris Reed. The Dodgers' first-round pick allowed just one hit over two shutout frames in his professional debut Wednesday, striking out two as Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga defeated Bakersfield, 12-10. "I was more excited than nervous," Reed said. After retiring the first two batters he faced, he yielded a line-drive single to center field by Brodie Green. Chris Richburg reached on a throwing error by Reed, putting runners on the corners. Facing Stephen Hunt, Reed induced a flyout to center to get out of the jam. With his father in the stands, the California native had no difficulty in the second, working a 1-2-3 inning to end his day. He was scheduled to go two frames or 35 pitches in his first outing. "Luckily, it was two innings. I went out there, wanted to throw strikes and keep the ball down," Reed said. "Pitching to wood bats was a whole different thing, but it was good to get out there." His fastball reached about 96 mph on the radar gun, according to Quakes pitching coach Hector Berrios. "We saw a kid who had a pretty good fastball," Berrios said. "He showed pleasantly surprising command. We didn't think he'd be as sharp as he was. "He struck a guy out in the first inning with a slider, then threw three straight change-ups for another strikeout. He showed confidence throwing that pitch back-to-back-to-back." The Dodgers have also been impressed by the 16th overall pick's mind-set in the early going. "He's a smart kid, he's adjusting to the lifestyle pretty quickly," Berrios said. "He's asking a lot of questions. Those are things you want to see from one of the high Draft picks." Reed went 6-2 with nine saves and a 2.56 ERA in 29 games -- including one start -- in his final season at Stanford. The left-hander struck out 52 over 52 2/3 innings while limiting opponents to a .211 batting average, earning an honorable mention for All-Pac-10. He actually joined the Quakes on Aug. 13, but his debut was delayed by a bout with tonsilitis. "Today, I was feeling good," Reed said. "[They] had me on some antibiotics and mainly rest." The 21-year-old hadn't pitched since the NCAA Super Regionals in June, and he started working toward Wednesday at the end of July. "[The Dodgers] told me to do my thing," Reed said. "LA made it real easy for me. They made a few corrections, minor adjustments, but the main thing was to just compete. I added a four-seamer because I only threw a two-seamer in college." Berrios said the Dodgers' plan is get him acclimated to a starter's routine. Reed's command had been a bit of an issue in college. He walked 34 in 74 2/3 innings, but his fastball-slider combo was enough to get him selected in the first round and earn him a $1.589 million bonus. Leading Rancho Cucamonga offensively Wednesday were Angelo Songco and Jaime Pedroza. Songco went 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and four RBIs, while Pedroza added two hits and also drove in four. Reliever Jordan Roberts (7-4) earned the win after giving up one run on two hits in two innings. Logan Bawcom locked down his ninth save with a scoreless ninth. |