Shields pitches five perfect frames

Jeffrey Shields helped the South Bend Silver Hawks have a perfect holiday Monday.

The 21-year-old Diamondbacks prospect retired all 15 batters he faced, striking out three, as the Class A Silver Hawks beat the visiting Dayton Dragons, 4-1, in the opening game of a Memorial Day doubleheader.

South Bend completed the sweep with a 5-4 win when Ender Inciarte scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning of the nightcap.

The right-handed Shields, who held Lansing to one hit over five innings April 13, lowered his season ERA to 6.10 with Monday's five perfect frames. He got seven ground-ball outs and five flyouts to go with his three strikeouts.

Though the Dragons lead the Midwest League with 95 stolen bases in 51 games, Shields eliminated their speed game by keeping them off the bases.

Shields, a seventh-round Arizona pick out of Chattahoochee Valley (Ala.) Community College last June, improved to 3-4 and has won his last two starts after going 0-3 in his previous six outings. He has not pitched more than five innings in any of his 10 appearances this season.

South Bend got on the board with three runs in the fourth inning. Inciarte drew a walk to start the rally and later scored on a Yazy Arbelo single. Ramon Castillo added an RBI double in the frame.

The Silver Hawks tacked on an insurance run in the fifth when Inciarte singled, stole second and scored on Michael Freeman's double.

Freeman went 3-for-3 in the game and Inciarte, the leadoff man, reached base three times on two walks and a single. The Silver Hawks were 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Reliever Greg Robinson took over for South Bend in the sixth and gave up the first Dayton hit on a one-out single by Tucker Barnhart. Devin Lohman also singled and Billy Hamilton plated the Dragons' lone run with a two-out double.

Daniel Taylor allowed a hit and a walk in a scoreless seventh to earn his second save of the season.

Dayton starter Daniel Tuttle fell to 4-2 after giving up four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits over five frames. He struck out four and walked a pair.