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Lugnuts' Sanchez wins on 20th birthday
Jays right-hander remains unbeaten with five scoreless frames
07/02/2012 12:42 AM ET
Aaron Sanchez has struck out 62 batters over 57 innings.
Aaron Sanchez has struck out 62 batters over 57 innings. (Emily Jones/MiLB.com)
Right-handed Blue Jays pitching prospect Aaron Sanchez allowed just two hits in each of his last two games, but left with nothing to show for his efforts on either occasion.

On Sunday, the first-rounder continued his dominance and got back to winning ways.

Toronto's No. 7 prospect allowed three singles, including two that didn't leave the infield, and issued a lone walk over five scoreless innings as the Class A Lansing Lugnuts beat the host South Bend Silver Hawks, 6-1.

He used an inning-ending double play to erase Chris Ellison's leadoff walk in the first inning, and he stranded two runners on base in the second.

After a 1-2-3 third, Sanchez surrendered an infield single to Matt Helms with one out in the fourth. But he retired the final five batters he faced before turning over a 5-0 lead to the bullpen. No batter advanced to third against Sanchez, who celebrated his 20th birthday by improving to 7-0.

The Lugnuts alternated between using the 6-foot-4 right-hander out of the bullpen and the rotation for the first two months of the season, but his last three appearances have been as a starter. Sanchez did not allow a run in his first 19 innings over six outings, and he has only surrendered seven runs -- four earned -- over 57 Midwest League innings.

He has held hitters to a .157 batting average and has not allowed a homer across 16 appearances. In nine games as a starter, the 34th overall pick in the 2010 Draft has allowed one earned run over 34 innings, good for an 0.26 ERA.

The California native does not have enough innings to qualify for any pitching awards. But if he did, he would lead the Midwest League in ERA and opponents' batting average and be tied for third with a 1.04 WHIP. His seven wins would tie him for fifth, two behind Burlington's Drew Granier and West Michigan's Wilsen Palacios.

On Sunday, South Bend starter Archie Bradley -- MLB.com's No. 15 prospect -- allowed three runs on two hits and five walks while recording six strikeouts over three innings. With the loss, Arizona's second-highest pitching prospect fell to 7-5 on the season and his ERA rose to 3.99.

Bradley has been victorious in just one of his past seven starts, after starting the year 6-1 with a 2.80 ERA through the first nine games.

Ashley Marshall 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.
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