Blue Wahoos' Travieso putting it together

After an inconsistent first half of the season, Nick Travieso has begun to feel like himself on the mound again.

The Reds' ninth-ranked prospect allowed two hits over six scoreless innings on Friday night as Double-A Pensacola held on for a 4-3 victory over Mobile at Hank Aaron Stadium.

"I'm just working on going out there, repeating my delivery and having confidence in my pitches rather than pitching to hitters' weaknesses now," Travieso said. "I'm starting to get back to the way I was and starting to challenge hitters more. Earlier in the year, since it was my first time in Double-A, I was trying to pick corners more often than I usually do.

"I'm a power guy and I'm usually attacking hitters over the plate and letting them make contact or swing through it. Now, I'm trusting my stuff more and working over the plate more. When I was trying to nibble off the corners, I wasn't throwing the ball with conviction; and when you lay it in there at this level, you're going to get hit. That's what I've changed since the first half of the season."

Travieso (4-4) set the tone Friday by retiring the first five hitters before Jamie Westbrook hit a two-out single in the second. He got some help from his batterymate, Jose Duarte, who nailed the D-backs' No. 22 prospect trying to steal second. Afterwards, Travieso sang the praises of his catcher, who hit a three-run homer in the second in his third start since being promoted to Double-A. 

"He just came up and has been great for us. I really believe he was the MVP of the game," Travieso said. "He hit a three-run home run and kept the runners in check. That caught stealing was on him. He called a slide-step fastball away. We had been pounding the hitter in and he had been fouling off a lot of pitches. Once I saw his quick release, I knew he was out. Knowing I don't have to be super-fast to home helps a lot. It helps me control the game, slow down the game and repeat my delivery a lot easier.

"[Duarte] realized my changeup was a good pitch early, and it's not a pitch I've had confidence in most of the year. But he realized it was a good pitch early. Having that confidence from the catcher helps me get in a groove, which allowed me to repeat my delivery, which allowed me to throw more strikes."

Travieso built off the momentum generated by his catcher and pitched 1-2-3 innings in the third and fourth before working around a leadoff single in the fifth and a leadoff walk in the sixth. 

"My delivery is something I've been fighting myself on lately," the 2012 first-round pick said. "But tonight, I felt like I could throw all three pitches for strikes tonight, even though I only had one strikeout tonight. But I wasn't really trying to put guys away, I was letting my defense work, and it really went well for me. I was throwing changeups both early and late in the count, which is something I hadn't done too often, but it was a pitch that was working for me in the bullpen and Duarte likes throwing that changeup to lefties a lot. It was a pitch that helped me get over the plate and let the guys work behind me."

Travieso lowered his ERA to 4.35 and his WHIP to 1.47 in his 15th start for the Blue Wahoos. The Florida native has been steadily improving over the last month, lowering his ERA 1.19 points and serving up just one homer in his last 29 innings.

"Lately, I've been getting the ball and having confidence in my stuff," he said. "I'm trying to get the ball and get back on the mound as quick as I can. I know they give us 20 seconds, but I want to be up on the mound and throwing pitches in 12. That's something I've set a goal on now, just to get back on the rubber and go. It's been working for me as of late."

Barrett Astin took over for Travieso and pitched a scoreless seventh. Mobile got back in the game by plating three runs against reliever Jacob Ehret in the eighth. Alejandro Chacin fanned three over two scoreless innings for his Southern League-leading 16th save.

BayBears starter Billy Buckner (1-4) allowed three unearned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six over six innings.