Missions' Needy silences Cardinals' lineup

James Needy is getting comfortable in Double-A, which spells trouble for Texas League hitters.

After compiling a 4.32 ERA in April, the Padres prospect has steadily lowered that figure. On Sunday, he allowed one hit over six scoreless innings and pitched San Antonio to a 7-2 road win over Springfield.

"I felt in control, I felt down in the zone, I felt like I was attacking hitters really well," Needy said. "I would say it was one of my best starts of the year."

With time off for the Texas League All-Star break and a rainout on Saturday, the 23-year-old right-hander received two extra off days between starts. It was a pause in the action he referred to as a "good mental break."

The only baserunners to reach against Needy were Breyvic Valera, who singled and walked, and Cardinals No. 18 prospect Mike O'Neill, who walked and reached on an error by shortstop Adam Buschini.

"I pride myself in giving my team the best chance to win. I'm going to battle, I'm going to get myself into jams and out of jams. 'Grind' is probably the best word to describe [my approach]," the 2009 sixth-round Draft pick said. "If you're Nolan Ryan or a Double-A pitcher, you're going to get into a jam and you need to be able to get the tough outs. And I pride myself on being able to get the tough outs, and I hope to be able to do that in the Majors."

Needy spent most of the 2012 season with Class A Fort Wayne but made two relief appearances for San Antonio and three for the Padres' Triple-A affiliate in Tucson. The San Diego native wasn't ready for the next level at the time, noting that he was "stupid, young and just throwing hard." Two years later, he's a completely different pitcher.

Needy (5-3) ranks third with a 2.20 ERA but said he hasn't made any mechanical adjustments; he's just become acclimated to the Texas League, thanks to pitching coach Jimmy Jones and catchers Jason Hagerty, Austin Hedges and Robert Kral.

"It's baseball. Every time you go out there, you learn something more. There's always stuff to learn," said the California native, who's unbeaten in nine starts since May 3. "I feel like I have pretty good idea of the hitters in the league, but I haven't faced everyone."

As the No. 9 hitter in the Missions' lineup, Needy watched from the on-deck circle as Buschini record his first career multi-homer game. The 27-year-old shortstop hit a leadoff shot in the third inning to put San Antonio ahead for good and slugged a two-run blast in the fourth to make it 4-0.

"In this league, they make us hit, so I was right there when [the two homers] happened. It was nice to see him get into a couple pitches, and the offense played a great game all around," Needy said. "I think we found our identity -- when we hit home runs, we have a pretty good winning percentage."

Hagerty also went yard and drove in three runs.

Springfield starter Kurt Heyer (3-5) gave up five runs -- four earned -- on eight hits while striking out seven over 6 2/3 frames.