Brach, K-Tribe bullpen strong in win

Through his first three starts of the season, Brett Brach hadn't allow more than one earned run in any outing. On Thursday, that streak continued.

Brach (3-1) gave up a run on two hits over 6 1/3 innings in leading the Class A Advanced Kinston Indians to a 3-1 victory over the Potomac Nationals. The K-Tribe's bullpen contributed 2 2/3 shutout innings, bolstering its streak of scoreless frames to 29 2/3 frames.

The right-hander struck out five batters and issued three walks. After a one-out free pass to Francisco Soriano in the first inning, he retired the next 12 batters he faced.

The Nationals' only run of the game was scored in the seventh inning, when Brach was chased from the mound following a one-out double by Justin Bloxom and a walk by Destin Hood. After Kinston reliever Chris Jones fanned J.P. Ramirez to record the second out, Cutter Dykstra singled on a popup to shortstop, plating Bloxom.

K-Tribe closer Preston Guilmet tallied his fourth save of the year after striking out two in a hitless ninth.

A 10th-round selection by the Indians in the 2009 Draft, Brach's ERA actually rose slightly in the outing, increasing from 1.17 to 1.25. The 23-year-old made a spot start for Double-A Akron on April 19, holding the Bowie Baysox scoreless over six innings. His combined ERA across both levels sits at 0.98.

Paul Demny (0-2) took the loss for Potomac, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks in six innings.