Graveman gets Sounds back in tune

When Kendall Graveman is getting ground-ball outs, he's happy. On Wednesday night, Kendall Graveman was happy.

"I was feeling really comfortable out there. I got back to doing what I do best," the A's No. 6 prospect said.

Graveman gave up four hits and recorded 13 ground-ball outs over seven innings as Triple-A Nashville beat Iowa, 6-0, to snap a six-game losing streak. 

The victory was the first in the Pacific Coast League for the 24-year-old right-hander. After coming to Oakland from the Blue Jays last November in the Josh Donaldson trade, he went 1-2 with an 8.27 ERA in four Major League starts in April, then took the loss at Round Rock after allowing five runs -- three earned -- over five innings in his PCL debut on May 1.

"It's been a tough four weeks or so as far as getting ground balls," the Mississippi State product said. "But I knew I needed to go back to the type of pitcher I am. And for me, that's the biggest thing: if I can let the defense do its work and get somebody out in three pitches or less."

When he was optioned to Nashville on April 26, Graveman (1-1) resolved to get back on track.

"In the Majors, it's not just the best players. In the Minors, there are a lot of really talented guys, but in the big leagues it's that everybody is consistent," he said. "The manager has to know every time what he's going to get out of a player. In my case, that's got to be, 'He's going to get his ground balls. If they're going to beat us, they're going to beat us on ground-ball singles all day.'"

Wednesday's start, during which he threw 58 of 98 pitches for strikes, was a step in the right direction.

"It was good. Iowa has a great team, but we were playing some great defense tonight," he said. "It was a well-rounded game for us, which was really good because we've been on a bit of a losing streak."

Graveman noted early on that the I-Cubs were grounding out a lot -- six times through the first three innings.

"It was very encouraging," he said, adding that his cutter -- a new pitch last season -- was only one weapon in the arsenal that made him so effective. 

"Also the sinker. Both play really well off each other, and we've been working on the change all week, too, with a little bit of a different grip to kind of slow down the ball a little. That was a big pitch, and also implementing the slider -- the key was to throw all four in the zone. It wasn't one pitch exactly, but the combination of the four of them."

Graveman allowed multiple baserunners in the same inning just once over seven innings. After striking out two in a row in the fourth, he gave up back-to-back singles to Javier Baez and Tyler Teagarden, then walked Rafael Lopez. Graveman ended the inning by getting Chris Valaika to hit into the only flyout he recorded all night.

The 2013 eighth-round pick coasted through the next three innings, getting eight more outs on grounders along the way. 

"The other thing to take away from this outing is some confidence," he said, "knowing I threw like I need to throw and getting ready for that next start in five days."

Ryan Cook worked around a hit in a scoreless eighth and Angel Castro struck out two and walked one in the ninth to finish off the Sounds' first shutout of the season.

Ryan Roberts had two doubles, two RBIs and a run scored for the Sounds, while A's No. 13 prospect Joey Wendle contributed an RBI single and a run scored.