Kernels' Cabezas twirls one-hit shutout

Andrew Cabezas grew up outside Miami. He went to The U. Last season, after being taken in the 18th round of the Draft, he played Rookie ball in Tennessee. He never knew cold -- certainly not that of Iowa in early April -- and although he said he's not one to make excuses, he struggled to get a feel early in the season with Class A Cedar Rapids. The result was the first up-and-down stretch he's had in the game he loves.
"It was just a roller coaster," he said. "I sat down with myself and I said, 'You're better than this.' To me, baseball is all I want to do. It's life and death for me. 'Figure it out now or the chances of you reaching your goals is not going to be obtainable.'"

Cabezas began to treat each start like it could be his last. It's shown.
On Saturday, he tossed a one-hitter for his first career complete game as Cedar Rapids blanked Quad Cities, 3-0, at Modern Woodmen Park. The right-hander struck out seven, walked one and lowered his ERA to 3.53. He's allowed two earned runs over his last five starts, pitching to a 0.61 ERA in that span.
It was the second time Cabezas (3-5) dominated Quad Cities this season. He faced the River Bandits on May 15 and allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings; with nine strikeouts and no walks in that gem, he's fanned 16 over 16 innings of two-hit ball against them.
Gameday box score
Half of the lineup in that game differed from the one he faced Saturday, so Cabezas did everything he could to throw off the opposition. At times, he quick-pitched. His delivery featured irregular hitches, pauses and double clutches -- but not on every offering.
Cabezas began to experiment with the tactic last season as a way to throw off hitters' timing. There was a lot of trial and error in the initial stages, he said, but it has become an effective weapon this year. His college coaches never gave full approval. The Twins, though, are on board as long as the gimmicks don't hinder his ability to throw strikes.
"No matter what delivery I do," Cabezas said, "I still have to execute my pitch."
The Twins prospect retired the River Bandits in order without striking out a batter the first time through. He lost his bid at perfection by hitting Ramiro Rodriguez to open the fourth but got out of the inning unscathed. Cabezas finally punched out two in the fifth.
The 22-year-old came back out for the sixth with a three-run lead, thanks to Gabe Snyder's RBI single and Chris Williams' two-run homer. He got through the frame with his pitch count at 60 and a no-hitter intact.

The chance at a milestone ended when David Hensley knocked a two-out single in the seventh. But Cabezas didn't crack, getting Jonathan Lacroix to ground out to end the frame. He worked a 1-2-3 eighth and entered the ninth having thrown only 83 pitches. The Kernels' bullpen sat idle, and the top of the River Bandits' order was up for one last look at Cabezas.
"If I start worrying about me losing a no-hitter, then I'm going to lose a shutout," he said. "I'm just using a pitch-by-pitch mentality. Just erase that and I just kept on going."

For a moment, he seemed to fade. He threw two balls to Rodriguez before the third caught the left-fielder on the foot. The first three pitches to two-hole hitter Grae Kessinger missed the strike zone. But the River Bandits' best chance at a rally died in an instant when Kessinger lined a comebacker right into Cabezas' glove. The pitcher tossed to first for the double play -- Rodriguez had no chance to get back -- and finished off the gem with a three-pitch strikeout of Oscar Campos.
"I've always said," Cabezas later joked, "if you want to clean up your mess, you have to do it yourself."