M-Braves' Gustafson perfect for a while

Left off the Braves' Triple-A and Double-A rosters to start the season simple due to space, Gustafson showed Monday he might have been worth a spot sooner.

He retired the first 18 batters he faced in Double-A Mississippi's 2-0 victory over Huntsville before allowing three singles over the seventh and eighth frames. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter.

"If one of the starters at each level wasn't able to make their start ... I was going to throw there," said Gustafson, who was expected to begin the season with Gwinnett, but had to wait until Kenshin Kawakami's injury to join Mississippi on April 20. "So really, I was just throwing, trying to stay in shape, hoping for something to happen."

Gustafson was actually prepping to be a reliever. That explains why he only made 60 pitches in his four-inning, one-run debut on April 22. He threw 93 pitches Monday.

"I feel like I can start or come out of the 'pen," he said, "and continue to put together outings like this, where I can show them that I can be of value and continue to move up."

Plucked from Georgia Tech by the Braves in the 2006 Draft's ninth round, Gustafson has started and relieved in his career. Monday's performance is clearly his best in five Minor League seasons with five different Atlanta affiliates. The only comparison would be his six innings of scoreless relief on May 14, 2010. But even then, he allowed four hits and issued a base on balls.

"This one was definitely the longest," Gustafson said. "To go deep into a game is always a good thing. It was a successful outing, especially coming off of the last one."

The 26-year-old right-hander allowed eight runs -- seven earned -- on eight hits over 2 1/3 innings last Wednesday.

"We made some changes, [pitching coach] Mike Alvarez and myself," said Gustafson, whose ERA shrank from 11.37 to 5.02 in a matter of two hours. "We made an adjustment on the rubber, throwing from more of a natural arm slot, not trying to get so on top of the ball. ... To me, it feels like I dropped it down. I don't know if somebody watching could tell the difference; it was just more of a natural arm slot."

New mechanics working well and pitching to contact, Gustafson coasted Monday, retiring 18 straight Stars to keep his bid for perfection alive.

"The innings went by pretty quick, and I was pretty sure [Huntsville] hadn't gotten a hit," Gustafson said. "I wasn't necessarily worried about throwing no-hitters or perfect games because I still had three more innings to go."

Lee Haydel's leadoff infield single to start the seventh ended Gustafon's bid for both achievements.

"It was a 2-2 changeup, and [Haydel] tapped it between me and the third baseman -- kind of like a swinging bunt," Gustafson lamented. "I have a terrible problem of just watching those balls go by and not being aggressive and trying to make the play. [Third baseman Donell] Linares was [playing] back with two strikes, and he tried to make the play on it. It was probably my ball. I should have gone after it."

Gustafson also allowed back-to-back singles in the eighth to Steffan Wilson and Erik Komatsu.

Thanks to an ensuing double-play ball, Gustafson faced two over the minimum 24 batters over his eight innings.

"Anytime you can get two outs with one pitch is pretty huge, especially that late in the game," he said. "Thankfully, that worked out for us."

The Braves' Jordan Kreke and C.J. Retherford provided the game's lone runs with RBI singles.