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06/10/2009 10:30 PM ET
RiverDogs' Phelps making progress
With Venditte's help, righty stays unbeaten since May 3
By Danny Wild / MLB.com
David Phelps has recorded six wins, five of which were saved by Pat Venditte. (Tony Farlow/MiLB.com)

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The Yankees would love to see a David Phelps-Pat Venditte combo in the Major Leagues in a few years. That's two pitchers and three arms, for those keeping track.

Phelps threw a gem for his sixth win and Venditte, the ambidextrous closer, earned his Minor League-leading 20th save Wednesday as the Charleston RiverDogs three-hit the Augusta GreenJackets, 2-0.

"I felt great, and you don't realize how much the adrenaline is rushing when you're out there," said Phelps, who was pulled after facing two batters in the ninth. "You realize afterward in the dugout how tired you were, but I felt great. And it's always nice knowing you have Pat behind you."

Phelps (6-1) allowed all three hits over eight-plus frames to win his fourth straight decision.

"I really would have liked to have finished it off, but it's a win and it's probably the best outing of my career," he said. "So I'll take it."

The 22-year-old right-hander, who hasn't lost since May 3, struck out five, walked two and lowered his ERA to 3.03 in 12 starts.

Venditte has been untouchable in his first full Minor League season. He picked up his 13th straight save by getting Dom Duggan to pop out and inducing a game-ending double play from Josh Mazzola.

"I don't want to get too excited too early about what's happening, but you want to get off to a good start, so I'm happy," Venditte said. "But I'm not going to sit back on this."

It's impossible to mention Venditte without his unique talent. The Creighton product, who owns an 0.64 ERA, throws with both arms. He was a New York-Penn League All-Star as a rookie and he's still improving.

"I feel confident when I come out of the bullpen, but each time you go out, it's a new night," said Venditte, who has not allowed a run since May 13 and has saves in all of his last 13 appearances.

Phelps, who played with Venditte last summer at short-season Staten Island, is gaining confidence as well. The 2008 14th-round pick has allowed three earned runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts.

"Ever since Spring Training, I've been working on ironing out the kinks in my mechanics. And lately, we've started to get repetition through my delivery," he said. "I'm keeping the ball on the downward plane, trying to stay consistent with all my pitches."

Phelps also was an All-Star last season and added another pitch to his arsenal, a curveball, since joining the River Dogs. He kept the GreenJackets off-balance for much of the night with fastballs and changeups, but as the game went on, he found some success with a tailing slider.

"I went with a couple curveballs to get them off-balance and when I got two strikes, I was throwing the sliders to get swings and misses," Phelps said. "We only got one strikeout with it, but I only threw it four times. It's nice to bring that out, a fourth pitch which they hadn't seen it all game."

And Augusta really had no idea what to expect when Venditte took the mound. His fastballs aren't overpowering -- his right-handed heaters reach the upper-80s and his southpaw fastballs come in in the low-80s -- but he can throw a variety of pitches from different angles, even against one batter.

"I feel like he just takes a load off our backs, we don't have to throw a complete game every time," Phelps said. "Our bullpen will lock it up for us. When you've got him coming out, it's great; the kid throws with both arms, he's two legit swing-and-miss pitchers."

Venditte shies away from the attention he's garnered since a memorable moment against Brooklyn last summer. His numbers alone have gained him plenty of respect.

"I try not to think about it too much, I just go out there and close out ballgames," he said. "I just want to get better every day -- we're in a playoff hunt and we want to win that playoff spot."

Yankee fans in New York, of course, would love to have a weapon like Venditte in the bullpen. The reliever, however, said he tries not to worry about those expectations.

"That doesn't come into my mind, I have way too much to work on to have to worry about where they'll place me," he said.

Danny Wild is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.