Pettibone stays in zone for Threshers

Rain affected the beginning and ending of Jonathan Pettibone's outing Thursday, but it definitely didn't dampen his start.

Pettibone (5-3) stayed dry long enough to complete seven scoreless innings Thursday in the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers' 5-0 shutout against the Fort Myers Miracle. He allowed just two hits and struck out six.

The 20-year-old right-hander sat in the dugout for almost 40 minutes before the game and he came out after seven because of, in part, a returning drizzle.

"I was just waiting around to see if I was going to pitch at all," he said.

Despite the fact that the Miracle's starter, Edgar Ibarra, threw 5 2/3 shutout innings, there was no match for Pettibone.

"Usually, you like the run support and all," he said, "but when the other guy is putting up zeroes, you get into a rhythm too."

The Threshers gave Pettibone a run in the seventh and another in eighth, just after Derrick Loop replaced him on the mound. The starter was icing his shoulder when teammates Troy Hanzawa and D'Arby Myers hit their first home runs of the season in the ninth.

Pettibone's performance matched a career best. He allowed two hits over seven scoreless frames last May while pitching for Class A Lakewood.

Ten starts into this season, Pettibone leads the Florida State League in ERA at 1.75 and is the lone sub-2.00 pitcher.

A Phillies' third-round Draftee in 2008 out of high school, he said his physical maturation is the biggest difference in the third year of his pro career. He has been able to advance deeper into games -- he also holds the circuit lead in innings (61 2/3) -- and added a couple ticks to his fastball.