Portland's McGrath posts eight more zeros

The last time Daniel McGrath allowed an earned run in the Eastern League, the 25-year-old -- who celebrated his birthday July 7 -- would be 24 for another 40 days.
It's been 46 innings since the left-handed Boston prospect yielded one on the circuit on May 28. McGrath continued that roll with eight two-hit innings, striking out six and walking one, for Double-A Portland on Thursday but Harrisburg slipped past the Sea Dogs for a 1-0 victory in 10 frames.

The impetus for the Melbourne, Australia native's dominant stretch came a week before the streak began. McGrath had been working in a long relief role for most of the season, but got a spot start against Trenton. He walked two in the first inning. An RBI triple gave the Thunder the lead in the second. "It was just a big grind," he said.
With a 1-2 count against the next batter, Mandy Alvarez, McGrath threw a fastball down and away. Alvarez took it for a ball, then whiffed a changeup. Eureka.
"Huh," McGrath thought to himself. "That's what I should be doing."
It wasn't necessarily the pairing of the two pitches that sparked McGrath, but rather how he arrived at that decision. When that fastball left his hand, he already had begun to visualize the changeup. He didn't need to wait for the pitch to hit the catcher's glove. The signals his batterymate Jhon Nunez sent were more confirmation than suggestion.
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"You know exactly what you want to throw," McGrath said. "Then you get the sign, and it's really just a quick process because it's already been done in your head."
Since his a-ha moment, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound hurler has solidified a spot in Portland's rotation. He has started six of the seven games he's appeared in since returning from a game with Triple-A Pawtucket. McGrath has surrendered an unearned run on 13 hits in 38 2/3 innings during that span. His ERA has dropped to 1.46, which would lead the Eastern League if he had enough innings to qualify.
All of that is quantifiable. But McGrath's simplified system also has changed his attitude. His nerves are calm. His mind is clear. And he's executing. The lefty cited good command of his fastball and changeup, which has given him the room to work on adding depth to his curveball and finding any sort of feel for his slider.
"Me not being an overpowering guy, it's a lot about confidence too," he said. "So being able to find that mental note or that mental click, and just be confident within myself, has been a real game-changer."

It showed Thursday when McGrath retired the first nine batters he faced. He avoided damage in the fourth despite allowing singles to No. 2 Nationals prospectLuis Garcia and Drew Ward, getting 19th-ranked Tres Barrera to fly out for the frame's final out. McGrath set down 12 of the next 13 Senators, with a two-out walk issued to Nick Banks in the eighth being the only other blemish on his line.
The game remained scoreless until extras. With right-hander Matthew Gorst (1-6) on the mound for the Sea Dogs in the top of the 10th, Harrisburg's designated runner Adrían Sanchez moved from second to third on a groundout, then came home on Barrera's sacrifice fly to right field.
Portland tried to follow suit. Designated runner Jhon Nunez moved to third on Jeremy Rivera's groundout to first baseman Ian Sagdal. But when ninth-ranked Red Sox prospectJarren Duran hit the next ball to the same spot, Sagdal threw home to nab Nunez at home and help Aaron Barrett earn his circuit-leading 22nd save.