Schmidt stellar in long relief in Thunder win

Clarke Schmidt made only three starts for the Thunder since his promotion on Aug. 15, but that didn't hinder the 23-year-old from wanting the ball when the playoffs began.
On Wednesday, he got it -- albeit a little later than he initially believed -- and made the most of his Double-A postseason debut.
The fifth-ranked Yankees prospect provided six strong innings of relief, allowing an unearned run on a pair of hits and a walk while fanning four, as Trenton rallied to a 4-3 victory over Reading in Game 1 of the best-of-5 Eastern League semifinals at FirstEnergy Stadium.

"It was a lot of fun," Schmidt said. "I knew the stakes were high, but I like the big environments, pressure situations. I've always thrived on that. So for me to be able to throw in this game and put up zeros was a blessing.
"I live for these big games -- the brighter the lights, the better. It was a lot of fun, the adrenaline was flowing and to settle down there and post those zeros and give my team a chance, I completed my goal, for sure."
Schmidt (1-0) entered in the fourth after rehabbing left-hander Jordan Montgomery rolled through the first two innings, striking out four before allowing a pair of runs in the third. He was lifted after throwing 33 of 44 pitches for strikes.
"I was supposed to be the starter and then yesterday afternoon they told me [Montgomery] was coming down, so I was going to piggyback him and to get ready to come out of the 'pen," he said. "So it was definitely a new thing for me. I had to change my warmup a little, figure out when the best time to get hot was ... but I think I handled it pretty well. My job was to just go out there and get outs and that's what I did so I was thankful for that."
Gameday box score
The 23-year-old right-hander issued a leadoff walk to Phillies No. 28 prospectCornelius Randolph before getting 14th-ranked Nick Maton to ground into a fielder's choice. An errant attempt moved Maton to second and a balk advanced him to third before No. 22 prospect Arquimedes Gamboa lifted a sacrifice fly to plate the Fightin Phils' third run.
Henri Lartigue hammered a base hit off the glove of first baseman Chris Gittens but was caught stealing by Kellin Deglan to end the frame, and Schmidt settled in from there.
"Early on, I really didn't have anything going," he said. "I was just spraying the ball everywhere and couldn't really find the strike zone. But then I made some adjustments and stayed within myself. I threw a lot of breaking balls early on, but then found my fastball and worked that in to keep guys off-balance, and that seemed to work well for me. My fastball had a ton of life tonight -- it was just jumping out of my hand. So I was able to bounce back and get some quick outs."
The 2017 first-rounder faced the minimum the rest of the way, aided by a double play to end the sixth, and threw 45 of 74 pitches for strikes. He needed 12 pitches or fewer to navigate four of his final five frames.
Alexander Palma put Trenton on the board with a sacrifice fly in the sixth and the Thunder stormed all the way back with a three-run eighth. Ben Ruta punched an RBI single back up the middle, Palma plated a run with a fielder's choice and Kyle Holder worked a four-pitch walk with the bases loaded.
"I knew we would put up some runs, so I was just trying to keep my mind in it," Schmidt said. "You can't lose focus, especially after we start to score, so I just did my best to stay locked in and put up two more zeros after that."
Game 2 is Thursday in Reading.
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Fourth-ranked Phillies prospect Spencer Howard took a no-hitter into the sixth and ended up allowing a run on two hits and two walks while striking out a career-best 12 over seven innings. Left-hander Jeff Singer (0-1) yielded three runs on two hits and a walk while recording one out in the eighth.
In other Eastern League playoff action:
Baysox 5, Senators 3
Orioles No. 5 prospectYusniel Díaz pulled Bowie even with a solo jack in the sixth inning and 13th-ranked Ryan McKenna capped a three-run eighth with an RBI single in the semifinal series-opening victory for the Baysox. McKenna finished with two hits, two walks and a run scored, while Preston Palmeiro tripled, singled, drove in one run and scored another. Second-ranked Nats prospectLuis Garcia and No. 18 Tres Barrera drove in runs for Harrisburg. Bowie hosts Game 2 on Thursday. Gameday box score