Clarkin battles through six one-hit innings

Yankees pitching prospect Ian Clarkin didn't have his fastball Thursday evening. His changeup and curveball weren't there either, and his balance and rhythm were off too.

Depending which dugout you're in, that's either good news or bad news. Then you look at his final line and see a zero in the runs column. The obvious question is how can that be?

Clarkin allowed one hit over six innings as the Class A Charleston RiverDogs routed the Savannah Sand Gnats, 9-0. The No. 7 Yankees prospect struck out seven batters, issued four walks and threw 46 of 80 pitches for strikes in his 11th South Atlantic League start.

"I just go out and compete. That's one of my biggest attributes," said Clarkin, who landed a $1,650,100 signing bonus when he inked his pro contact last summer. "I don't give in just because I don't have my best stuff. I didn't have any of my pitches. All I can say is that I battled. I didn't have a pitch to rely on. I just had to battle the whole night. My three pitches [fastball, changeup, curveball], I didn't have any of them.

"I was just falling forward instead of staying back on my back leg. I was falling off to the right side. The last inning, I finally figured it out and that was when I struck out the side."

The 6-foor-2 southpaw walked the first two batters of the game, but Yeixon Ruiz was thrown out trying to steal second base and Champ Stewart was nailed at home by Miguel Andujar when he tried to score from third base on a ground ball to the left side of the infield.

Clarkin retired nine batters in a row before issuing a walk to Jonathan Leroux in the fourth, but he started an inning-ending double play on a comebacker off the bat of Matt Oberste to keep the Sand Gnats off the board.

Nelfi Zapata broke up the no-hit bid with a blooper over second base and into shallow right field to lead off the fifth, but the 19-year-old rolled another double-play ball before striking out four of the final five batters he faced.

It marked the third time Clarkin has seen Savannah this season, the most he has seen any team in his brief pro career. The California native allowed six runs over four innings the first time he squared off with the Sand Gnats on May 19 and he allowed a run on five hits over five frames on June 5.

"Tomorrow is about getting ready for my next bullpen and my next start," said Clarkin, who won the gold-medal game for Team USA at the 18-and-under world championships in 2012. "I'm excited for my bullpen to get to work on some things. Every day I learn more about myself and about my mechanics.

"I'm here to perfect myself. I want to work on some things before the next level. I'm learning every single start I have and I'm finding out things that do and don't work for me."

Selected by the Yankees in the first round -- 33rd overall -- of the 2013 Draft, Clarkin got plenty of support from his RiverDogs teammates.

Andujar smacked a first-inning grand slam and plated six runs -- a career high for the Yankees' No. 18 prospect and a season high for the RiverDogs. Right fielder Michael O'Neill, first baseman Mike Ford and catcher Eduardo de Oleo also recorded multi-hit games.

Eric Ruth allowed one hit over three innings of relief to earn his first save of the year.

Savannah's John Gant (7-4) surrendered six runs -- five earned -- on seven hits and four walks over five innings.