Chiefs' O'Reilly tosses two-hit shutout

After giving up a two-out single to Anfernee Grier in the ninth inning on Wednesday, Mike O'Reilly's mind drifted back to his start on May 20 when the Cardinals prospect fell two outs shy of a no-hitter.
This time, he finished what he started. 

O'Reilly got Marcus Wilson to fly out to left field to finish his first career shutout on 85 pitches as Class A Peoria blanked Kane County, 6-0, at Dozer Park. 
"At that point, I was thinking about [the start on May 20] and about how I wanted to finish the game," said O'Reilly, who gave up two hits and a walk. "Before the eighth, I wasn't thinking too far ahead because that's when you get in trouble. Our hitting coach, Donnie Ecker, said to me that I should see the finish line and that I had it. It's always good to get a boost like that. I knew I felt good and still had a lot of energy left, so I wanted to get that one out."
O'Reilly needed only six pitches to get through a clean first inning, then didn't allow the ball to leave the infield in a 1-2-3 second.
Gameday box score
"They were attacking and putting the ball in play, so I just took what I could get. If they're going to make quick outs, that's better than going four or five pitches for every player," O'Reilly said.
The Cougars got their first baserunner in the third when Manny Jefferson reached on a throwing error by third baseman Juan Yepez. O'Reilly picked up his infielder by striking out Alexis Olmeda and getting two outs on his next two pitches to get back to the dugout.
"It's always a good feeling to pick up your defense," he said. "Those guys work hard behind me all the time, and I know they've picked me up plenty of times offensively."
O'Reilly gave up his first hit, a leadoff double to D-backs No. 9 prospect Anfernee Grier in the fourth. After Marcus Wilson flied to center, Grier stole third and gave the Cougars' their only significant threat of the night. With the infield in, O'Reilly got Mark Karaviotis to ground to short and retired Ramon Hernandez on a fly ball to center to post another zero.
"I kept the same approach with the runner on third," the 2016 27th-round pick said. "I tried to attack hitters, get ahead and stay ahead. There, I was looking for a strikeout, but I got a weak ground ball and the infield was in, so that was just as good."
Following Grier's double, O'Reilly retired 10 in a row before walking Karaviotis with one out in the seventh. Again, he made the big pitch when he needed it and got Hernandez to ground into an around-the-horn double play.
Even though he was rolling, the right-hander said he kept a level head as he geared up for the eighth.
"I was talking to people all game. It wasn't one of those situations where the guys left me alone," he said. "I felt loose tonight. We had a comfortable lead, so I just focused on throwing strikes. I tried not to think about it too much. I was just working on one out at a time."

A six-pitch frame put O'Reilly's pitch count at 69 and earned him the right to go back out for the ninth for the second time this season.
"I had an idea in my head that my pitch count was pretty low, but I didn't know how low it was," the Long Island native said. "I know I can locate my fastball well and have enough velocity to throw it by guys when I need to, but I've always prided myself on throwing strikes and eating innings."
Since joining the Chiefs rotation on May 3, O'Reilly has a 1.56 ERA and 0.69 WHIP over 40 1/3 innings. He's recorded 39 strikeouts against two walks in six starts.
Rehabbing Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong left after one at-bat with elbow discomfort. His replacement, J.R. Davis, hit a two-run double for the Chiefs, who got three hits and two runs scored from Ryan McCarvel.