Cole goes the distance to halt Senators' skid

Double-A Harrisburg's A.J. Cole took it upon himself to be the stopper in Game 1 of a doubleheader against New Britain on Saturday.

With his Senators having lost six in a row, the Nationals' No. 2 prospect delivered a four-hitter for his first career complete game in a 5-0 win over the Rock Cats.

Cole racked up season highs with eight strikeouts over seven innings while avoiding walks for the third time this year.

"It was a big lift for the team and for everybody, and also for A.J.," Harrisburg pitching coach Chris Michalak said. "It was a good outing for him, strong performance. It's good to see."

After MLB.com's No. 60 overall prospect set the tone, Harrisburg completed the sweep with a 9-3 triumph in the nightcap.

In his eighth start of the year, Cole threw 68 of 98 pitches for strikes, improving to 4-2 and shrinking his ERA to 2.25, second-lowest in the Eastern League.

"My fastball location was working best for me," Cole told PennLive.com. "I didn't really find my curveball/slider until basically the fourth inning. It seemed to me the hitters basically eliminated that pitch. They knew I had it, but they kind of eliminated it. My changeup was working well, too, so I still had my fastball/changeup. Really, the best thing was locating that fastball."

Cole allowed a single to Brad Boyer in the first inning, a double to Corey Wimberly in the third and singles to Daniel Ortiz in the fifth and Reynaldo Rodriguez in the seventh.

Wimberly and Boyer, who stole second and third after his base knock, were the only New Britain baserunners to get into scoring position.

"The biggest thing was that he didn't really panic," Michalak said. "He didn't try too hard, he just stayed within himself and he made his pitches. That was the biggest thing.

"When runners get in scoring position, sometimes pitchers try to do too much, and that was definitely not the case. He trusted his stuff, he trusted his ability and stayed aggressive and went after them and did a great job."

The 2010 fourth-round pick also struck out the side in the second inning.

Though Cole has generally been solid all year -- his first full campaign at Double-A -- his pitching coach was particularly impressed by Saturday's outing and his start on May 6, when the 22-year-old right-hander scattered seven hits over six shutout innings with seven strikeouts and no walks.

"He's definitely on the right path," Michalak said. "The biggest thing is just being consistent, being able to implement the stuff that we work on in between starts into his outings, whether it's a mechanical issue or whether it's working on his off-speed pitches and getting those consistent."

Cole got a boost from Michael Taylor, Washington's No. 4 prospect, and Cutter Dykstra, who launched solo shots in Game 1. Taylor added a two-run blast in the second game, bringing the center fielder's season total to 10, which leads the Eastern League.

"He's got some unreal power, just comes out of nowhere," Cole told PennLive.com. "And he's a great runner. He's always catching everything."