BayBears' newest hurler has Long night

It's a good thing Grayson Long made such a strong impression in his Double-A debut, because most starting pitchers are often forgotten when a game ends nearly five hours later.
The sixth-ranked Angels prospect allowed one hit and a walk with four strikeouts in six scoreless innings, but Mobile needed 17 frames to top visiting Pensacola, 2-1, on Monday night at Hank Aaron Stadium.
Long faced one over the minimum after allowing a single to the first batter he faced. The 22-year-old was promoted to the BayBears on Thursday, one day after he delivered five shutout innings for Class A Advanced Inland Empire in a 3-2, win over Lake Elsinore.

Box score
"I didn't have any extra nerves or anything like that," the Houston native said. "I try and treat every game like it's the ones I've been playing since I was 4 years old. I had really good fastball command which helped me get ahead a lot. I couldn't locate my slider as consistently as I would have liked, but I did make a few pitches with it that got me out of trouble. I had to really rely on the guys behind me tonight and they were fantastic." 
Blake Trahan lined a single to right field on Long's fourth pitch of the game, but the Reds' No. 24 prospect was caught trying to steal second base. The right-hander walked Josh VanMeter with one out in the second -- the last Pensacola baserunner until Eric Jagielo singled with one out in the eighth.
Long threw 54 of his 81 pitches for strikes.

It was a debut that might have happened sooner if he had not battled injuries last year. The third-round pick in the 2015 Draft began last year with Class A Burlington and posted a 1.58 ERA and a .190 opponent batting average against in eight starts before going on the disabled list with right biceps tendinitis.
Long's return was pushed back when he suffered a fractured finger on his right hand during a rehab assignment in the Rookie-level Arizona League. He was sent to Inland Empire when he returned nearly three months later and fanned 15 in 14 innings over three starts for the 66ers.
"It was challenging to be hurt, because I never had any problems like that before," Long said. "Rehab is kinda funny. You go do the same thing at the same time every day. You have a few hours to yourself, so it's kinda weird, but the Angels' strength and training staff were great. I can't thank them enough. I feel stronger now than at any point since I made my first professional start."
Back in Inland Empire to start this season, Long allowed six earned runs on 12 hits with three walks in seven innings during his first two starts. However, Wednesday's outing seemed to pave the way for his promotion.

"It was a complete surprise," Long said. "My first two starts were a bit rough. I had some mechanical things come up, but I fixed it in the third start. It was surreal to get that phone call. I'm just a small-town kid from Texas who's now throwing in Double-A games, but again, it's the same game.
"These guys are a little bit older here, but I played with a lot of them last year [at Inland Empire] and they've taken me in and made me feel at home. We're a really tight-knit group." 
The Texas A&M product was long gone when the BayBears finally prevailed. The Blue Wahoos took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 16th on an RBI single to left field by Gabriel Guerrero. 
Hutton Moyer responded with a game-tying hit with two outs in the bottom of the frame. Zach Houchins ended the four-hour, 46-minute marathon with an RBI single to center in the 17th.

Pensacola starter Keury Mella matched Long on the mound and then some. The Reds' No. 19 prospect allowed four hits, walked one and struck out four over seven shutout innings. After surrendering eight runs on 13 hits over 6 2/3 innings in his first two starts, Mella has given up one run in his last 13 frames.
Jon Fitzsimmons (1-1) fanned one in the 17th to pick up the win.
Pensacola's Jake Ehret (0-1) did not retire a batter in the bottom of the inning.