Stars' Moye spins six shutout innings

Andy Moye may have missed a month and a half with a strained hamstring, but he's off to the best start of his Minor League career.

In his second outing since returning from the disabled list, the Brewers prospect allowed one hit over six scoreless innings Friday night as Double-A Huntsville completed a five-game sweep of Tennessee with a 5-1 win.

The 26-year-old right-hander didn't have his best pitch -- the changeup -- working, but he allowed only three walks and a second-inning double to Anthony Giansanti. Just about the only time Moye (1-0) appeared to run into trouble was the first, when he issued two free passes.

"That was just me being aggressive and trying to do too much," he said. "I got the first two guys out in [five] pitches and I was in the driver's seat, so then I tried to overpower the next two and I walked them."

After Giansanti's double and a free pass to Elliot Soto in the third, Moye finished his outing with three straight perfect frames. He closed out the sixth with his 75th pitch, reaching his limit on the nose.

Just 1 2/3 innings into his first start of the season, the Georgia Southern product strained his hamstring. He made a rehab start for Class A Wisconsin on May 20 and, after allowing a run on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings, returned to Huntsville.

"That was tough. It's never easy going on the DL, no matter what time of year, but I rehabbed and I was just trying to stay positive, trying to get back as quick as I could," he said. "I'm still on a pitch count, but definitely after these two starts at the Double-A level, I can start to get into a groove."

The 6-foot-5 Florida native said he thinks the pitch count for his next start will climb to 90 before it's dropped altogether.

 

Across two leagues and four starts, Moye is 2-0 with a 1.07 ERA over 17 innings. And after spending all of last season in the Southern League, he's looking forward to the next step.

"I know what I'm capable of. This being my second season in the league, I'm trying not to do too much," he said. "Hopefully, I do well and see where it takes me. You never know when you'll be called up."

Moye helped himself in the fifth when he executed a safety squeeze to score Kentrail Davis and give the Stars a 2-0 lead.

"I was able to put a decent bunt down and he scored," he said. "It's definitely fun and a part of the game that I miss. I was able to do it last year and I got a couple hits."

Huntsville's shutout bid ended in the ninth, when Cubs No. 2 prospect Kris Bryant launched his league-leading 17th homer off reliever Tommy Toledo.

The Stars held on for their seventh straight win, opening an 11 1/2-game lead over the second-place Smokies in the North Division first-half race.

Tennessee starter Julio Rodriguez (1-1) was charged with four runs -- three earned -- on three hits and six walks over 5 1/3 frames.