Lakins ties career high with nine K's for Salem

Travis Lakins isn't afraid to admit last season was inconsistent in part because of spotty location.
But that didn't bother Boston's No. 8 prospect a bit when it came to his 2017 debut. Lakins was in control from the get-go Thursday night, allowing four hits while matching a career high with nine strikeouts over 5 1/3 scoreless innings as Class A Advanced Salem fell to Down East, 7-6, at Haley Toyota Field.

"I was just excited to get out there," the 22-year-old right-hander said. "I really don't get really get nervous before a start."

Lakins normally uses a an array of pitches with varying speeds to induce outs. But he decided on a different approach on Opening Day in which he abandoned some of his secondary offerings against the Wood Ducks. On this night, less was more.
"I was really on a two-pitch diet -- fastball and slider," Lakins said. "I didn't really even throw my changeup and my curveball. I was working on keeping control of those two pitches this game. That was the plan tonight and I think that it went well."
The two-pitch mix kept the Ohio State product focused on pounding the strike zone, and the results followed -- 61 of his 89 pitches were strikes and he only reached a three-ball count four times.
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Lakins' mid-90s fastball and slightly tweaked mechanics kept him ahead of hitters and out of deep counts.
"My fastball command has been the big thing," he said "Tonight is the best it's ever been -- maybe ever. Getting fastball command down and then working in the secondary pitches when I can has been big. That's what I did tonight.
"Last year I kind of had a rotation with my back and I would lose sight of the hitter sometimes. Now I'm going straight up and down each time. It's really helping me keep my focus on the plate and the hitter."

Lakins maintained the focus to the end of his start. With Luis La O on first, Eduard Pinto came to the plate. The left fielder singled off him in a six-pitch at-bat in the first. The two ended up locked in another three-ball count. This time in the sixth, the 2015 sixth-round pick came out on top with a strikeout. Lakins departed after that.
"I had no idea, did not know [that I was coming out of the game]," he said. "Whenever they were going to take me out, that's when they were going to take me out. I had a feeling that it'd be around the sixth, but I didn't know my pitch count, so I just kept my focus on the hitter and struck him out."
Josh Ockimey, Boston's ninth-ranked prospect, clubbed a three-run homer for Salem. 

Rangers No. 16 prospectJairo Beras smacked a two-run shot that capped off a six-run rally in the ninth for Down East. La O also went yard and Ricardo Rodríguez threw two perfect innings, fanning two, to earn the win.