Frogs' Kingham hurls 96-minute shutout

Using his sinker to near-perfection, Nolan Kingham was putting hitters away in quick succession on Wednesday. But it wasn't until after the handshake line and he returned to the clubhouse did he realize just how quickly he was working. 
"It was a pretty fast-paced game, but I didn't realize how quick it was until I looked at my phone after the game and it said it was like 7:44 [p.m.]," Kingham said. "We ended [Tuesday's game] before the sunset in like two hours and 10 minutes, and I'm like, 'Dang, that was quick.' As I was shaking everyone's hands [Wednesday], I still saw the sun, and I'm like, 'Geez, that was a pretty quick game.'"

The Braves prospect needed only 85 pitches and 96 minutes to toss the first complete game in team history as Class A Advanced Florida blanked Lakeland, 2-0, at Osceola County Stadium. Kingham allowed three hits, faced one batter over the minimum and struck out five en route to his first Florida State League victory.
Gameday box score
Kingham (1-1), who had yielded seven runs over 10 innings in his first two outings since a promotion from Class A Rome, was more than happy to get the victory this time. But his first complete game at the pro level, and first of any kind since 2017 at the University of Texas, added to the allure of his ultra-quick version of a "Maddux" -- going the distance on fewer than 100 pitches.
"It's kind of been my mentality all year, but the last two starts I kind of got out of rhythm. I wasn't really being myself," he said. "But thanks to [pitching coach Dan Meyer] and my catcher [No. 9 Braves prospectWilliam Contreras] for catching my bullpen and getting me right. I was looking forward to the start. ... I threw a couple of nine-inning games in college, but nothing that was under two hours. I'd had a couple with like 85-90 pitches, but tonight was awesome and I'll have to feed off that."
With Rome to start the season, Kingham allowed one earned run over 16 innings and had a 0.81 WHIP before earning the bump to Florida. In those first 10 innings with the Fire Frogs, he was touched for 19 hits and three walks. Returning to form in this third outing, Kingham used his heavy sinker to record 14 ground-ball outs. 
The Las Vegas native never fell into a three-ball count and set down 16 hitters on three pitches or fewer. Noting that five Flying Tigers starters were left-handed, he worked up a plan that pitched more to his strengths. 
As Lakeland was holding the Fire Frogs to two runs on five hits, Kingham found himself going from the mound to the dugout and back in short order. But getting back to the hill in a brief amount of time allowed him to strike more of a balance than he did in the previous two outings.
"I was just going to play off [the sinker]. If I could get ahead with that and get on or out in two pitches with that [sinker], I would be able to go long in the game," Kingham said. "If I'm in the dugout for a long time, obviously, it means we're putting up a lot of runs. But we had some timely hitting and it was a pretty quick inning when we put up a two-spot. It was all I needed for the day and it worked out." 
Kingham faced no trouble through the first 13 hitters, but A.J. Simcox broke through with a one-out single in the fifth. He wasn't on base long, however, as the brother of Pirates right-hander Nick Kingham got Daniel Reyes to bounce into an inning-ending double play. 
Lakeland did not get another baserunner until the eighth, when Reyes singled up the middle with two outs. He was stranded at first when the 22-year-old whiffed Reynaldo Rivera. 
"It could hurt you, obviously, if you're not in a rhythm," Kingham said. "But if you're on and you're having a pretty quick game, that's pretty fun to do. It's hard to stop that." 
It looked like Lakeland could mess up his flow and put a dent in the run column as Austin Athmann led off the ninth with a single, but Kingham had more answers. He got Luke Burch to ground into a double play and retired Cole Peterson on a bouncer to first to complete the shutout. 
To put into perspective just how quickly the game ended, it could have been played twice and a showing of Avengers: Endgame would have just been starting the closing credits. 
2019 MiLB include
"It was probably the first time all season where I didn't try to acknowledge my pitch count. Because in the first few starts you're at 60 pitches in the fourth inning and you're like, 'Let me just get one more inning.' And they're like, 'Nope, you've got five more pitches,'" he said. "You don't get to play the game, really, without thinking too much. And today I really had no idea." 
Even after scuffling in his initial FSL outings, Kingham has a 3.32 ERA over 19 innings. 
"I would say baseball's a crazy thing," the right-hander said. "I was doing pretty decent in Rome. I moved up to here and my first two starts were shaky and rocky, and then to come out and do this, it's definitely a humbling game and you never know what you're going to get that day. You're not always going to have your 'A' game and you've gotta grind it out."
Drew Lugbauer provided the only offense Kingham needed, ripping a two-run double in the fourth.