Cards' Reyes hits 101 mph, strikes out 13

Alex Reyes lit up the radar guns with triple digits on Wednesday night, but after a rough first inning, he was reminded that throwing hard isn't the only key to pitching.

"The first inning I struggled with my fastball, being able to get ahead in the count," the Cardinals right-hander said. "I talked to my pitching coach [Randy Niemann] and he wanted me to throw my changeup more, so that helped me get into a good groove with my fastball."

St. Louis' No. 3 prospect settled in, striking out a career-high 13 batters and hitting 101 mph with his fastball in Palm Beach's 5-1 loss to the Dunedin Blue Jays at Roger Dean Stadium.

Reyes (2-5) was charged with three runs -- two earned -- on five hits and a walk over six innings to suffer the loss, but dominated at times to best his previous career high of 11 strikeouts, which he set most recently on May 11 against Daytona.

"Today, I feel like this is the best I've felt all year," he said. 

Reyes, whose ERA rose to 2.08, has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10 of his 12 starts this year. He struck out 10 batters in his first two starts on April 9 and 15 and has now whiffed 90 in 60 2/3 innings.

But none of that mattered in the first inning when Dunedin used two extra-base hits and a two-out wild pitch from the Elizabeth, New Jersey native to take a 2-0 lead. At least four of Reyes' fastballs that inning were 100 mph or more.

"I've been throwing like that the last couple starts, but I don't try to overthrow it at all," he said. "I just try to get ahead with the fastball, be consistent down in the zone and throw it for strikes."

Reyes said working in changeups helped set up his fastball after the bumpy first. By the third, he felt comfortably in control.

"I didn't know I was having a good night until the third, but the first two were kind of a grind," he said. "Being out there, competing and fighting through it, I was throwing strikes consistently, and that's what clicked in the third inning."

Palm Beach responded with a run in the bottom of the frame when C.J. McElroy was hit by a pitch and scored on a double play, but that was all the Cardinals (31-35) could manage. The Blue Jays (30-36) tagged Reyes for another run in the sixth when Matt Dean singled and scored on a fielding error by left fielder Derek Gibson.

Reyes said he's been working on refining his fastball command since last summer, when he went 7-7 with a 3.62 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 109 1/3 innings at Class A Peoria.

"Last year late in the season, we worked on my changeup down in Peoria and that just helped me command my fastball more," he said. "If I'm able to get ahead with my fastball and be consistent on the mound, I feel like I have a chance to get a lot of hitters out."

Reyes, who signed with the Cardinals out of Elizabeth High School, said he felt strong after the sixth but understood being taken out of the game.

"It's always hard for me to give the ball up, but that's what they decided," he said. "But being able to command all three pitches, my curveball was pretty effective and I was able to get ahead with it for strikes, I was able to throw it in the dirt when I needed to."