Gagnon spins three-hitter for Manatees

Drew Gagnon tries not to pay too much attention to box scores. But he'll be pleased to see his name in the win column tomorrow for the first time in two months.

The right-handed Brewers prospect scattered three hits over seven innings as the Class A Advanced Brevard County Manatees blanked the Lakeland Flying Tigers, 6-0, in the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday.

He struck out seven batters and issued one walk in the first complete-game shutout of his young pro career.

"I glance at [the statistics] here and there, but I'm not threatened by them," said Gagnon, who has one start remaining this season. "I never think, 'Oh my God, I've given up four runs, that's going to hurt my ERA.' You progressively get worse if you worry about that instead of what's going on.

"I got my first [Florida State League] win today, so that was awesome. I had a lot of quality outings in Wisconsin, but this was definitely in my top three of the year."

In the second inning, Gagnon allowed a two-out double to Adolfo Reina and James Robbins followed with a walk, a problem the California native admits happens sometimes when he's forced to pitch out of the stretch for the first time in a game. But Gagnon induced a routine fly ball off the bat of Hernan Perez to end the inning.

He retired 12 of the next 13 hitters -- James Robbins doubled in the fifth, but was stranded at third base -- and he worked into and out of trouble in the seventh.

Wade Gaynor beat out an infield single to lead off the seventh and Gagnon hit Dean Green with a pitch. But then he retired the final three batters to complete the shutout.

"To be honest, the command was there with the fastball, and I was able to throw the changeup wherever I wanted," said Gagnon, selected by the Brewers in the third round of the 2011 Draft out of Long Beach State University. "It was one of those days where everything was working. I was throwing my curveball as an 0-2 or 1-2 pitch, and in the [final three frames], I had really good command of it.

"I was in that zone where whatever the catcher put down, I was happy to throw. I have been eliminating my walks quite well. I've been getting ahead in the count and my strikeout-to-walk ratio has been a lot better."

The 21-year-old was 6-1 with a 2.83 in 14 Midwest League games before his promotion. But since making his Class A Advanced debut June 30, he was 0-2 with a 3.15 ERA in his first 10 starts at the new level.