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04/10/2008 4:49 PM ET
Balester's dominance boosts Clippers
Nationals prospect hurls six one-hit innings to halt losing streak
By Benjamin Hill
Collin Balester retired 18 of 20 batters and did not allow a runner past first. (Joe Santry/Columbus Clippers)

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One day after the Columbus Clippers suffered their sixth straight defeat, Collin Balester was determined to put a stop to the club's losing ways.

Balester and two relievers succeeded, combining on a three-hit shutout Thursday afternoon, as the Clippers avoided a sweep by edging the visiting Durham Bulls, 1-0.

"After the bullpen pitched seven innings last night, I knew I had to come out today throwing strikes," said Balester, who picked up his first win of the season. "I was more comfortable with my fastball this time out, and was able to consistently get ahead of hitters."

Indeed he was. Balester (1-1) yielded just one hit and a walk over six innings while striking out six. The 6-foot-5 right-hander retired 18 of the 20 batters he faced, and did not allow a runner past first base.

"We started off 1-0, and everyone had high hopes," said Balester, who was selected by the Montreal Expos in the fourth round of the 2004 Draft. "Hopefully, today will help us get out of our slump, and we can start stringing together some wins."

Balester threw just 75 pitches in his dominating outing and retired the final nine batters he faced. Nonetheless, he wasn't brought back out to pitch the seventh.

"I said that I felt fine going back out there, but they decided to go to the bullpen instead," he said. "I was okay with that, and those guys got the job done."

Dennis Tankersley followed Balester with two scoreless frames despite allowing two walks, a hit and a wild pitch. Charlie Manning pitched around Evan Longoria's leadoff single in the ninth to pick up his first save.

Balester and his bullpen compatriots had no margin for error, as the Columbus offense managed to push across just one run in the second inning of what turned out to be a six-way pitchers' duel. Larry Broadway singled to lead off the frame, stole second and scored when Jeremy Owens made a two-out fielding error on Ray Olmedo's fly ball to center field.

Ben Hendrickson (0-1) suffered the hard-luck loss, yielding an unearned run on two hits over five frames. Calvin Medlock and Grant Balfour followed, combining on three scoreless frames.

Longoria collected two of the Bulls' three hits, but it wasn't enough to keep the club from being shut out for the first time this season. Durham dropped to 4-4 with the loss.

Benjamin Hill is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.