Gohara's arm, Zimmerman, Smith bats carry M's past Rays, 4-2

His first two Appy League starts weren't jaw-dropping. A 0-1 record and a 7.94 ERA weren't impressive by any means.

In his third start Monday night, 889 fans in attendance at Hunnicutt Field saw quite a pitching display from a 16-year-old kid.

Luiz Gohara, currently rated as the No. 15 prospect in the Seattle Mariners farm system - according to MLB.com - pitched like a veteran.

The 6'3", 210 pound southpaw from Tupa, Brazil, threw five scoreless innings and earned his first professional baseball victory. After allowing a one-out single in the first inning, Gohara settled into a groove. He retired 11 straight batters after that single, a whopping eight of them on strikeouts.

Last time out against Danville, Gohara struggled with locating all of his pitches - fastball, curveball, changeup - it didn't matter. He couldn't escape the second inning.

This time all three pitches were effective, writing an entirely new chapter in the Brazilian's young and promising career.

Gohara (1-1, 4.22 ERA) showed more maturity on the mound as well. Faced with a first-and-third two-out situation in the fifth, he got Wilmer Dominguez on another strikeout - his ninth of the game. That punch-out was Gohara's last in five scoreless innings. He allowed just three hits and walked none.

While Gohara was cruising on the mound, the Pulaski offense was quietly doing its part. The M's put up two in the first inning off of Princeton right-hander D.J. Slaton (0-1, 4.09 ERA). Ian Miller doubled into the corner to lead off the game and came in to score one out later on a Jeff Zimmerman RBI single. Tyler Smith then split the gap in right-center, scoring Zimmerman all the way from first for a RBI triple.

The Mariners - who led the entire Appalachian League in home runs entering the game with 14 - added to that total in the third inning. Zimmerman drilled a solo shot to right field - his team-leading third - giving Pulaski a 3-0 lead.

Gohara was relieved in the sixth by Leoncio Munoz who allowed one earned run in his inning of work. Daniel Thieben threw two scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth. The M's added an insurance run in the ninth on a bloop RBI single by Toby DeMello, scoring Luke Guarnaccia from third. Rafael Pineda allowed one run in the ninth and eventually had the game tying run at the plate. The former Texas A&M Aggie induced a popup to Zach Shank to end it, earning Pineda his first professional save.

Smith led the Pulaski offense with a 3-for-4 night at the plate, a home run away from the cycle. Zimmerman, Guarnaccia, and DeMello all collected two hits as well.

The win pushes Pulaski's winning streak to three, and the M's now sit two games above .500 at 9-7 overall.

Pulaski will conclude their three-game set with Princeton tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. ET. Right-hander Noel De La Cruz (1-1, 3.45 ERA) will take the mound for Pulaski and will be opposed by Princeton righty Jorge Rodriguez (0-2, 5.14 ERA).

 

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