Everett's Miller delivers five perfect frames

Brandon Miller was, literally, unmistakably good Wednesday night. 

Seattle's No. 29 prospect tossed five perfect innings, striking out five, to lead Class A Short Season Everett to a 1-0 win over Eugene at PK Park. 

Miller started the game by getting D.J. Wilson to pop out to short before recording back-to-back strikeouts to finish the frame. The 2016 sixth-round pick needed just six pitches to get through the second.

"Throughout the week, I was paying attention to how the guys were getting their outs," he said. "I just wanted to go in there and pound the zone with all four of my pitches, and luckily, they were all working. I was able to locate the fastball inside and outside whenever I wanted to, and that helped out a lot."

After completing his first trip through the Emeralds lineup in the third, Miller got through the fourth with nine more pitches. The 21-year-old was efficient all night long, throwing 40 of 52 pitches for strikes. 

"I tried not to think about the perfect game too much, but it did cross my mind a little bit," Miller said. "One of the big things for me personally is to focus on one pitch at a time and not worry about the last pitch or what was going on. That really helped me keep something alive that doesn't happen too often."

Miller began the fifth inning by striking out Wladimir Galindo and and getting Trent Giambrone to ground out to short. He faced his first three-ball count against his last hitter, but Zack Short flew out to center field on a 3-1 pitch.

"I wasn't worried. I just wanted to throw a competitive pitch and it ended up getting him out. I had confidence in my ability to throw a strike there," he added.

Early on, Miller took notice that home-plate umpire Harrison Silverman was giving him the lower part of the strike zone. He utilized that advantage to collect six ground-ball outs with only one flyout. 

"I realized early, when we were hitting in the first inning, that the umpire was really giving the knees," the Pennsylvania native said. "I wanted to capitalize on that and use it to my benefit. I was able to pound the bottom half with changeups, fastballs and sliders to get them to ground out. That was a big thing to notice early."

Miller has amassed a 2.98 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in 51 1/3 innings this season, earning himself the chance to start for the Northwest League against the Pioneer League in the All-Star Game. The Millersville University product has recorded 44 strikeouts while issuing seven walks in his 12 appearances for the AquaSox. 

"I started off the season a little rough, getting used to the level change coming from Division II to pro ball -- it took a little bit of time to adjust," Miller said.  "After a few outings, I was able to learn how to effectively pitch to these batters and ultimately get them out."

Reggie McClain took over in the sixth and recorded seven straight outs before Giambrone singled to right to end Everett's bid for perfection. McClain allowed one hit and struck out two batters over three innings before giving way to Marvin Gorgas, who completed the shutout with a scoreless ninth.

Manuel Rondon (6-1) gave up a run on five hits and issued three walks for Eugene. The 21-year-old struck out three in 3 2/3 innings. 

Everett left fielder Jose Leal plated the game's only run with a single to center in the fourth.