Winston-Salem's Hansen flirts with no-hitter

As Alec Hansen got deeper into Tuesday's outing and realized there was a no-hitter on the line, he decided the best way to keep calm was to rely on the same approach that got him there in the first place. 
"The whole game I'm pretty aware with everything that's going on with the game," the No. 12 White Sox prospect said. "That was obvious to me." 
While Hansen (1-2) ultimately fell short of history, he allowed one hit and two walks while fanning eight over 5 2/3 frames to lead Class A Advanced Winston Salem to a 3-0 win over Lynchburg in the first game of a doubleheader at Calvin Falwell Field.

Gameday box score
Hansen sports a 3.04 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP through five starts since a promotion to the Carolina League. The 2016 second-round pick is tied for seventh in the Minor Leagues with 119 strikeouts, which he attributes to the overall control of his repertoire. On Tuesday, Hansen tossed 54 of 85 pitches for strikes. 
"I'm feeling pretty good about my outing, I would have liked to get out of the sixth inning, but other than that, I'm a happy person," he said. "It wasn't like I was in cruise control the whole time, I was fighting myself with command a few times -- I had two walks. For the most part I felt in control of my fastball, they weren't getting too many good swings on it. I was throwing a pretty good changeup as well." 
After amassing a 7-3 record with a 2.48 ERA in 13 starts for Class A Kannapolis, Hansen hit a little rough patch in his last two starts with Winston-Salem, yielding nine runs -- seven earned -- over eight innings. After making some slight tweaks to his approach with Dash pitching coach Brian Drahman, the right-hander believes he's back on track. 
"The biggest thing for me is posture, especially being a tall guy," Hansen said. "I've got long arms and long legs and just making sure my body is in the right position allows me to have better command of my fastball." 
Establishing his heater in the first inning, the University of Oklahoma product struck out the side on 13 pitches.
"The last several starts, it seemed like I kind of got off to a slow start in the first inning," Hansen said. "To get out of it today with a 1-2-3 first inning -- for me -- helped. It also helps your team and they have more faith in you when there's more confidence in the pitcher. That was a big thing in the first inning." 
Gavin Collins started the second frame with a walk, but the 22-year-old fanned Ka'ai Tom and catcher Seby Zavala completed a double play by nabbing Collins as he tried to swipe second. Sicnarf Loopstok then popped up to second to end the frame. Hansen and his batterymate, who were both called up from Kannapolis on June 22, have developed a strong relationship this season. 
"He's caught almost every single game I've pitched, so we've gotten to know each other pretty well," Hansen said. "I don't really shake him off too much. ... It's good to work together and go out there and get outs together. It's kind of fun." 
The Loveland, Colorado native retired 10 of the next 11 hitters he faced before plunking Anthony Miller with a 2-2 pitch with two outs in the sixth. Sam Haggerty lined a single to left field to break up the no-hit bid. 
"I was a little shaky when I hit that guy, I had to pitch out of the stretch and then [Haggerty] got the hit," Hansen said. "That's something I'll keep working too, pitching better out of the stretch. If I had better command of my breaking balls, I wouldn't have even been in that situation. But it's all good and I'm still getting better." 

Mike Morrison recorded the last four outs of the game -- three via strikeout -- to earn his first save and preserve the shutout.
Hansen was pleased about performing well with the club's new players in the lineup. Following a trade between the White Sox and the Cubs, the Dash added Eloy Jimenez, now the organization's second-ranked prospect, along with Bryant Flete and Matt Rose to the roster.
"It was nice to help the team out, especially with all these new guys, and to let them have more confidence in me is big," Hansen said. "I've never really played in the field, so I'm sure it takes the pressure off of them. It's great to be able to do that in front of all these guys."
In the nightcap, Lynchburg blanked Winston-Salem, 5-0. No. 14 Indians prospectShane Bieber yielded seven hits and struck out five over six innings.