IronPigs' Cloyd sparkles in 10th win

Tyler Cloyd has seemingly come out of nowhere, going from Double-A to the Triple-A All-Star Game. On Friday, he put an exclamation point on his breakout season.

The Phillies prospect pitched a four-hitter and struck out six for his first career shutout as Lehigh Valley blanked Norfolk, 3-0, in the first game of a doubleheader.

Cloyd (10-1) faced four batters over the minimum in his 17th International League start. After allowing a one-out double to Nate McLouth in the first, he retired eight in a row before McLouth singled leading off the fourth.

"I kept the ball down low and executed my pitches, except for that one inning. And a double play and a great play in left by Dom helped out a lot," Cloyd told The (Allentown) Morning Call.

Dom is Domonic Brown, who ended the fourth with a diving catch in left field to preserve the shutout. Earlier in the inning, shortstop Andres Blanco started a double play.

Cloyd, the IL's starter in the Triple-A All-Star Game, leads the league with a 1.98 ERA and is second with a 0.99 WHIP. Not bad for someone who spent most of April at Double-A. Overall, the 2008 18th-round Draft pick is 13-1 with a 1.94 ERA.

Cloyd's only other complete game came on April 14, 2009, when he went six innings for Class A Lakewood.

"I knew it was only seven innings and I was trying my hardest to go all seven," he told the newspaper. "[Pitching coach Rod Nichols] asked me after the sixth if I could finish it and I said yeah."

Cody Overbeck slugged a solo homer and Hector Luna lifted a sacrifice fly for the IronPigs, who completed a sweep by taking the nightcap in 10 innings, 5-4.

Tides starter Jake Arrieta (2-1) was charged with three runs on six hits over 5 1/3 frames.