McKenzie whiffs career-high 14 for Hillcats

Triston McKenzie knew he had the strikeout pitch working Tuesday night, but he was surprised to find out just how dominant he had been. 
Cleveland's No. 3 prospect allowed one hit while striking out a career-high 14 over six scoreless innings as Class A Advanced Lynchburg defeated visiting Carolina, 4-1. It marked the second double-digit strikeout performance of McKenzie's career and his first since he punched out 11 for Class A Lake County on Aug. 16. 

Box score
The 19-year-old managed to rack up his 14 punchouts on just 92 pitches.
"My command was great and everything was really working out there," McKenzie said. "I used the changeup intermittently to keep the hitters off balance. I mean, I'm definitely not keeping count of how many strikeouts I have out while I'm on the mound, although I knew I had tallied a decent amount. But I was a little surprised when they told me how many I had when I was done." 
The night began on an inauspicious note for McKenzie (3-2) when he walked Corey Ray on five pitches to start the game. The Brewers' second-ranked prospect swiped second with nobody out, but the right-hander struck out the next six batters he faced and retired 10 straight Mudcats until Milwaukee's No. 5 prospect Isan Díaz singled to center field with one out in the fourth.
McKenzie ended the best start of his career by fanning six of the last seven batters, including the side in the sixth. 
"My strikeouts were mostly distributed between my fastball and curve tonight, but all of my pitches were really working well," said the native of Brooklyn, New York. "My goal never changes on the mound regardless of how I'm doing. I want to do the best job that I can for my team. Whether that means striking guys out or letting them put the ball in play for the defense behind me, so be it.
"During starts like this, the game just comes rather easy for me. I'm not out there focused on how to get guys out, but just focused on getting them out, period, and going with the flow of the game."
The 42nd overall pick in the 2015 Draft is no stranger to success. McKenzie brought a 1.51 ERA in his first 19 professional appearances into the season. Tuesday's game lowered his ERA this season to 1.95 in six starts and his 44 strikeouts stand atop the Carolina League. 
"Knowing I was coming into my first full-season schedule, I bulked up a bit in the offseason to help with my conditioning over the longer season," McKenzie said. "So far, I've already noticed how much more knowledgeable the hitters are and their approach towards pitchers. They make you pitch closer to the strike zone, they're more patient and they definitely make you work harder." 

Dominic DeMasi allowed a run on two hits and a walk with one strikeout in two innings for the Hillcats. Argenis Angulo worked around a walk while fanning two in a scoreless ninth for his third save.
Ka'ai Tom and Martin Cervenka went deep for Lynchburg, which has won five of its last six.