Giolito nearly perfect out of P-Nats 'pen

On a night when Lucas Giolito was asked to do something he never had before, he turned in his best outing as a professional.

Pitching out of the bullpen to accommodate a one-inning rehab appearance by Aaron Barrett, the 20-year-old right-hander threw seven hitless innings Wednesday night as Class A Advanced Potomac came within two outs of a no-hitter in a 4-0 blanking of Frederick. 

"I felt like I was in pretty good control of my pitches," said Giolito, MLB.com's top prospect not currently in the Majors. "I've definitely got to say that was the best fastball command low in the zone on both sides of the plate that I've had all year. I've been working on that in my bullpens all year because it hasn't always been where I've wanted it."

Barrett, recovering from a strained right biceps, worked around a two-out walk to Chance Sisco in the opening frame. 

With a fastball clocked in the mid- to upper-90s, Giolito (3-4) walked one, hit Sisco twice and threw 52 of 84 pitches for strikes. He lowered his ERA to 3.08.

The 16th overall pick in the 2012 Draft said he's been focused of late on working late into games; Wednesday's outing matched the longest he's had as a pro.

"I got taken out of the game [after seven innings] because last time I only went two innings because of rain, and the time before that I only went four because my pitch count was too high," Giolito said. "I knew seven would be my limit because of that. It's kind of like, in the Minor Leagues, if you want to throw deep into games, you have to consistently throw deep into games."

Entering a game already in progress didn't pose much of a mental challenge for the California native.

"Not really," he said. "I did my same pregame routine, but I pushed it back 15 minutes because I was coming in in the second. Aaron's here rehabbing, and he did a great job setting the tone."

Giolito was working in the 80s with his changeup and curveball, according to FanGraphs' Nathaniel Stoltz.

"I think my fastball velocity was right where needs to be and I was able to maintain it," Giolito said. "There have been times when I'm pitching in the sixth or seventh inning and it drops down to 92 or 93. Tonight, I was able to maintain it through the whole game."

The Nationals' top prospect retired his first seven batters before plunking Sisco with an 0-2 pitch with one out in the fourth. He struck out the side in that inning and kept the Keys off the bases until hitting the Orioles' fifth-ranked prospect again leading off the seventh.

"I let two pitches really get away on Sisco -- one was near the head. I feel pretty bad about that, because I never want to do that to a guy," said Giolito, who hadn't hit a batter all season. "I was trying to come in and saw him off or set up another pitch and I missed really bad. I don't miss inside very much, but it does happen sometimes."

Four pitches later, Giolito was out of the inning as Wynston Sawyer bounced into a double play and Conor Bierfeldt grounded out.

"The whole no-hit thing is icing on the cake," Giolito said. "The defense was phenomenal -- [Narciso] Mesa, playing center, made a diving catch on a ball that should have been a triple and [second baseman Adrian] Sanchez turning that double play. ... The defense was good every time a ball was hit near them."

Giolito walked Austin Wynns on five pitches to start the eighth but set down three in a row to conclude his evening.

"I was a little frustrated by [the walk] because I was living in that part of the zone all day," he said. "I threw one pitch that I thought might have been a strike, but it ended up making it a 3-0 count, and I basically lost him after that."

Manny Rodriguez took over in the ninth and lost the no-hit bid on Jeff Kemp's one-out single.

"Manny's done a great job for us and he threw up a zero to keep the shutout," Giolito said.

Spencer Kieboom, the Nationals' No. 20 prospect, doubled and drove in two runs in support of his batterymate.

Chris Lee (2-4) took the loss, despite holding the P-Nats to a run on two hits and three walks while striking out six over six innings.