Nickerson fans 10 in three-hit shutout

Print

Nickerson fans 10 in three-hit shutout
05/24/2008 12:03 AM ET
By Danny Wild

Jonah Nickerson is getting stronger as the season goes on, and that is bad news for a growing number of hitters every five days.
Nickerson, the reigning Florida State League Pitcher of the Week, struck out a career-high 10 batters and allowed only three hits over seven dominant innings for his fifth win as the Lakeland Flying Tigers blanked the host Jupiter Hammerheads, 8-0, in the second game of Friday's doubleheader.
"I'm getting stronger as the game goes on," Nickerson said. "My arm strength is coming back a little bit and I think everything is starting to come together with my location and pitches."
Nickerson (5-3) did not walk any of the 23 batters he faced in arguably his most dominant start. He allowed just three hits -- a one-out double in the second inning to Smelin Perez, a two-out double to Greg Burns in the third and a one-out single to Logan Morrison in the seventh. He lowered his ERA to 4.12 in his second straight victory.
"It was a little of everything," said Nickerson, who relied on a devastating curveball for strikeouts. "I've basically been controlling my fastball the last couple games, trying to get ahead and trying get them to swing when I'm ahead with my curveball. It's been working the last couple of games."
Nickerson and his fastball-curve combo have been nasty the past two weeks. The Oregon State product struck out eight and allowed one hit over 7 2/3 shutout frames in his previous start May 18 against the Palm Beach Cardinals. The 2007 Midwest League All-Star has given up just three earned runs in his last 21 2/3 innings spanning three starts.
Lakeland staked Nickerson to a five-run lead in the fifth.
"That was huge," Nickerson said. "At that point I didn't know if it would be enough runs, but I'm glad we got them up on the board. I didn't want to go into extra innings, so it was good we got them early enough to be able to close it out in the seventh."
The right-hander, who struck out one in his Florida State League debut April 5, has steadily increased his strikeout totals and innings pitched over his 10 starts at Lakeland. He's fanned 46 batters in 59 innings this season and was named Pitcher of the Week on May 19.
The award isn't motivation for Nickerson, though.
"It's nice from a personal standpoint, but it's not something you think about," he said. "Obviously if you get it, your team has to be doing pretty well."
Nickerson, Detroit's seventh-round pick in 2006, struck out a previous career-best nine batters on two occasions in '07 for Class A West Michigan. The Wyoming native went 11-7 with a 4.24 ERA in 25 starts for the Whitecaps after appearing in five games as a rookie with short-season Oneonta in 2006.
Ryan Strieby hit a two-run homer in the seventh to cap his four-RBI night and give the Flying Tigers an eight-run cushion. Jeramy Laster went deep in the sixth.
Jupiter starter Brad Stone kept it close with two hits over four scoreless innings, but reliever Colby Miller was tagged with five runs -- one earned -- on three hits and two walks in the fifth. Miller (0-1) recorded just two outs for the Hammerheads, who committed three errors.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.