Kernels' Rijo pops career-high 10 whiffs

Luis Rijo has put forth many quality starts in his full-season debut, but he had yet to record a start with double-digit strikeouts. Now Minnesota's No. 30 prospect can check off that box. 
Rijo fanned a career-high 10 while yielding one hit over a personal-best seven scoreless innings to lead Class A Cedar Rapids to a 4-2 victory over Burlington on Thursday at Perfect Game Field. 

From the get-go, the right-hander had his whole arsenal working, according to Kernels pitching coach Jared Gaynor. With a mix of three pitches, Rijo (2-5) was extremely efficient with 56 strikes on 71 pitches. In the third start this season in which he didn't walk a single batter, the Venezuela native only fell into two three-ball counts.
"He really had all three of his pitches working this afternoon -- the fastball, the curveball and the changeup," Gaynor said. "The changeup is one of those pitches that we've been working on. Today it was great for him, he saw a lot a strikes with it. He got some weak contact, so that was good to see. He did more than what we could have asked out of him today." 
Gameday box score
The start proved to be just the latest in a solid string of outings for the 6-foot-1, 200-pound hurler. After allowing seven runs on May 14, Rijo delivered three straight outings of five innings and allowing just one hit. In his last start against Wisconsin, he was tagged for three runs -- one earned -- over 4 2/3 frames to break that streak. But even with a minor blip, he got back on track against Burlington and lowered his ERA to 2.33.
Rios missed some time at the end of May and into early June with a stint on the injured list, but Gaynor said he has handled coming back to the rotation very well. 
"He's done a really good job since he's come back off the IL, he's done a great job," the pitching coach said. "We've been building off one start into another. And today's start was the deepest he's gone since being back. It was good seeing him go seven and it was exactly what we were looking for him out of today."
Rijo only allowed four balls to leave the infield while recording eight groundouts.
The hurler set down the first six batters of the game before Justin Jones lined a single to lead off the third inning. Rijo came back to strike out Morgan McCullough and Mario Sanjur on eight pitches and then got fifth-ranked Angels prospectJordyn Adams to ground out to third to end the frame. 
Jones was the last runner to reach base against the 20-year-old, who set down the final 15 hitters he faced. In the seventh, Rijo capped off his start with punchouts of Spencer Griffin and Connor Fitzsimons. 
Even with all of the strikeouts in his longest outing, the Cedar Rapids starter never threw more than seven pitches to any hitter. 
"When you have all three pitches working like that, you can really put the ball where you want," Gaynor said. "It's fun for a pitcher because he felt confident to throw any pitch in any situation. I want to say he didn't fall behind into a 2-0 or 3-0 count until like the fourth or fifth inning. It makes it easier on yourself as a pitcher when you're working ahead. Then you're able to expand the zone and get weak contact or swings-and-misses."

Traded from the Yankees along with Tyler Austin for Lance Lynn last summer, Rijo sports a 2.04 ERA across 79 1/3 innings since coming over to the Twins. And there's still plenty to build upon going forward. 
"I just think the confidence in all of his pitches," Gaynor said about what stood out this outing. "He's always had a good fastball. I think just continue doing what he did today. Utilizing all three pitches because all three of them are quality pitches that are weapons."
With the game scoreless into the sixth, Jared Akins clobbered a three-run homer to put the Kernels on the board. No. 16 Twins prospect Gilberto Celestino added an RBI triple an inning later.