Stingy Gore dominant again for Storm

MacKenzie Gore will pitch in the Futures Game on Sunday. The trip to Cleveland might be his ticket to Amarillo.
In his latest California League gem, MLB.com's No. 3 overall prospect struck out nine and allowed three hits over a career-high seven scoreless innings before Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore fell to Rancho Cucamonga, 2-1, on Tuesday at LoanMart Field.

Gameday box score
Gore faced multiple baserunners in just one inning, allowing two hits through the first three frames before walking a pair of batters in the fourth. The left-hander wriggled out of that jam after free passes to Dodgers No. 15 prospect Jeren Kendall and 13th-ranked Connor Wong and continued cruising from there.
Devin Mann singled to left field leading off the sixth but was caught stealing by catcher and Padres No. 14 prospect Luis Campusano. After issuing a two-out walk to Deacon Liput in the seventh, Gore fanned Dodgers No. 27 prospect Miguel Vargas on his final pitch.
"You don't have to tell MacKenzie Gore [to not get] complacent," Storm pitching coach Pete Zamora said last month. "He's out there to dominate every time. He's very, very hard on himself in a good way -- he expects a lot out of himself."
San Diego's top prospect finished with nine strikeouts for the second straight outing and dropped his ERA to 1.02, which would lead the league if he had enough innings to qualify. Gore has allowed one run or fewer in 14 of his 15 starts this season and has given up three hits or fewer 13 times.
"I've always held myself to a high standard," Gore said in May. "I kind of ignore the noise. I appreciate it, but there's a lot of good players around me, so if I don't work, I'm going to get left behind and other guys are going to get to the big leagues."
The southpaw threw 55 of 93 pitches -- his third-highest total of the year -- for strikes and generated five outs on the ground against four on the fly. Double-A Amarillo could await after his appearance in All-Star Week festivities this weekend.

"His professionalism, showing up every day and hammering out his routine," Zamora said earlier this season. "Not many things knock him off. Even if things don't go his way, he has a plan and he knows where he wants to go. He makes it look real easy, but there's a lot of hard work put into it.
"It's pretty rare. Last year, we had it with [Chris Paddack], who's right around the same style and same routine. ... These two are built the same, their routines are the same and their work ethic is the same."
Vargas got the last laugh for the Quakes. Promoted to Rancho Cucamonga after back-to-back four-hit, two-homer games for Class A Great Lakes, he stroked a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning off reliever Jordan Guerrero to give the Quakes the walk-off win.