Crick continues dominant month

Kyle Crick continued to do what he's done all month long -- leave opponents shaking their head.

The Giants' No. 15 prospect struck out eight and allowed two hits over six innings Saturday night as Class A Augusta blanked Savannah, 1-0.

Crick kept the Sand Gnats out of the hit column until ZeErika McQueen doubled with one out in the fifth. He walked four and faced five batters over the minimum in his 12th start for the GreenJackets.

"I'd say fastball-curveball was working for me," Crick said. "I was just getting ahead of the count."

In three starts this month, the 19-year-old right-hander has allowed just an unearned run over 18 innings. Crick has given up only five hits while striking out 22 during that stretch.

"Fastball command and getting ahead of the batters," he said when asked what was the key. "I'm making them swing at pitchers' pitches."

Overall, Crick is 3-4, ranks sixth in the South Atlantic League with a 2.79 ERA and ninth with 73 strikeouts. The 49th overall pick in last year's Draft is hoping to get even better -- and he knows what he needs to do.

"Cut my walks in half and throw a lot more strikes," he said.

Michael Fullmer (4-4), the Mets' No. 8 prospect, fanned eight while allowing a run on two hits over six innings. Pitching in a game that many would describe as old-school was a fun experience for Crick.

"It was cool, real competitive," the Texas native said. "I knew the other starter, we were definitely competing against one another."

Steven Neff and Jacob Dunnington each contributed a hitless inning before Cody Hall pitched around a hit in the ninth to earn his 12th save.

Shawne Payne drew a two-out walk in the opening inning and scored the game's only run on a double by Ben Thomas, who went 2-for-4.

Savannah's Cam Maron was 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 16 games.