Glasnow untouchable again for Power

Tyler Glasnow has extra reason to be happy his team is headed to the playoffs: the way he's pitched over his final three starts of the regular season, it would have been a shame to not keep going.

"We clinched yesterday, and that made it even sweeter," he said. "Hopefully, I'll get to see some more innings and we'll go on and take it all."

The Pirates' fifth-ranked prospect worked around four walks over five hitless innings Friday night as Class A West Virginia coasted to a 10-2 triumph at Lexington.

Glasnow (9-3) struck out four, lowered his ERA to a South Atlantic League-leading 2.18 and has recorded 36 outs since allowing a hit. The most recent was a leadoff double by Hickory's David Lyon on Aug. 16.

"I'm just sticking with what I know, trying not to get too long on the mound, reading swings," said Glasnow, who hasn't given up a run since Aug. 7. "The last few starts, I've felt pretty good. My control went a little bit today, but it was a decent outing."

After a 1-2-3 first, the 20-year-old right-hander hit a batter and uncorked a wild pitch in the second.

"The first inning felt really good, then I got away from things a little bit. After the first, I didn't really feel the same," Glasnow said. "I didn't change anything, but I had to do a lot more to make the pitch I really needed to make. It was just one of those days where I had to work a lot harder to throw strikes."

The Legends were no better off for it. Glasnow issued walks in the third and fourth but neither runner reached second base. He started the fifth by walking Alex Hudak, who was caught stealing before Glasnow walked the next hitter. He got a fly ball and a strikeout to end his outing.

"I went to 3-2 on the [last] guy. It was not a quality at-bat, but I was just glad to get out of the inning," explained the 2011 fifth-round Draft pick. "I was just happy to get the out.

"Usually, I'm a little wild in the first and it takes me a bit to find my control and later in the game I get better. This time, it was the other way around. It was weird -- it definitely was not my best night, but there are positives I can take from it."

During the offseason, Glasnow will return to the West Coast.

"I have a strict program to go back to there, but I don't want to think about that yet," he said. "Hopefully, we'll keep going in the playoffs."

"I feel like the end of the season has been extremely exciting. The last month, this team, knowing we want to clinch and make the playoffs, has played really hard every single game. Every game has felt like postseason baseball already."

Raul Fortunato collected three hits and two RBIs and scored a run for the Power, while Jordan Steranka homered and doubled. West Virginia will play Hagerstown in the opening round of the SAL playoffs, beginning next week.

Royals No. 7 prospect Hunter Dozier singled twice and knocked in a run for Lexington.