Best Pitcher Performance, No. 9: Kingham Keeps Season Alive with Seven Scoreless vs. Durham

INDIANAPOLIS - Nick Kingham had a tale of two seasons for the Tribe, and it was his strong finish that put him on the brink of a promotion to Pittsburgh. After 12 games (11 starts) with Indy, Kingham's record sat at 3-6 and he owned a 5.16 ERA, but he finished with a flourish going 7-0 with a 2.66 ERA (18 ER/61.0 IP) over his final nine starts, including a seven-inning gem in the postseason.

Trailing Durham 2-0 in a best-of-five Governors' Cup Semifinal, Kingham put the Tribe on his back to force a Game 4 at Victory Field. His offense provided him with three runs in the third and two more in the eighth to complete the 5-0 blanking, the first home playoff shutout in the Victory Field era.
The right-hander was at his best from the start, sandwiching two strikeouts around a two-out single in a scoreless first. In the second he worked around a two-out knock and walk by picking off Taylor Featherston with a nifty move to second base.
That pickoff led to three easy innings for Kingham, as a two-out single by Pat Leonard in the fourth was the only damage done against the Texas native.
Kingham escaped two-out trouble in the sixth by stranding two more runners on a lineout to center, and a 4-3 double play started by Erich Weiss on a lineout in the seventh capped his brilliant effort.
Kingham's final line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 95 pitches/61 strikes.