Ports' Correa shuts down Rawhide

Manny Correa is back in the California League with a new team, but he's turning to the same principles he's always used.

They certainly worked for him on Saturday night.

Correa, who signed with the A's in January after seven seasons with the Angels, carried a no-hitter into the sixth and exited after seven shutout innings as Class A Advanced Stockton held on for a 3-2 win at Visalia.

The 25-year-old right-hander allowed three hits and a walk while striking out four. He's pitched parts of three seasons -- including all of 2012 -- in the Cal League and he adheres to a philosophy he believes will work not only in that hitter-friendly circuit but anywhere.

"I've been here before, but it doesn't matter," Correa said. "I knew I just had to be confident in my pitches and try to work down."

The native of the Dominican Republic didn't feel any extra anxiety about making his first start in a new organization, but he did reflect on the journey that made him a member of the Ports rotation.

"[The pressure] was the same as always," Correa said. "I was happy because I worked so hard for this moment tonight, to get into this start and be able to keep the ball down through the game."

D-backs prospect Socrates Brito broke up the no-hit bid with a bunt single leading off the sixth. Correa (1-0) saw it coming, but that didn't provide much help.

"I was looking for that bunt, I was not surprised at all. I thought, 'OK, keep throwing the ball down, throw him the curveball,' but he [got] a good bunt down," he said.

The dribbler fell in front of the mound.

"[At first], when I went to field the ball, I thought I was going to have a good chance," Correa explained. "But he runs fast. He was almost on [first] base when I turned around to throw it."

Raul Navarro followed with a line drive single to right field, but Correa said the second hit was not the result of lost concentration. It was simply a pitch that missed its location.

"I wasn't thinking about that [first] hit, because that's not my job," he added. "It's my job to throw a good pitch to the [next] guy. I left it too high -- I threw him a slider on a 2-2 count, trying to strike him out [on a pitch] in the dirt."

Correa got out of trouble by getting Steve Rodriguez to hit into a double play.

"I was excited because I was looking for that," he admitted. "The catcher [Ryan Gorton] came out and asked me what pitch I wanted to throw. I said, 'You know, he's going to swing at the changeup.' My changeup is a good pitch for a ground ball. I made a good pitch down."

D-backs right-hander Ryan Cook, on a rehab stint for shoulder tendinitis, took over in the eighth and gave up two runs -- one on a homer by Brandon Jacobs -- while retiring two batters. Austin House retired all four batters he faced, striking out two, for his first Cal League save.

Daniel Robertson, the A's third-ranked prospect, went 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Ports.

"I like him," Correa said of the 20-year-old shortstop. "He's playing pretty good. He's a competitive guy and he's always working hard."