Gold, Gorst Rolling on Class A Mounds
The former Georgia Tech teammates have combined for four wins and two saves in their past six outings.
Colorado Rockies minor-leaguer Brandon Gold has adjusted quickly to the High-A California League, winning his third consecutive start Friday, July 21, for the Lancaster JetHawks.
Gold gave up three runs, two of them earned, on 10 hits in 6 1/3 innings in the 10-7 home victory against Lake Elsinore. He struck out four Storm batters and walked none.
In his previous start, a 4-0 win at Lake Elsinore on July 15, Gold was so dominant that he earned recognition as Jewish Baseball News’ Minor League Pitcher of the Week for the second time this summer.
In four starts in the high-scoring California League, the Davis Academy alum has yet to walk a batter while compiling 20 strikeouts in 25 1/3 innings with a 3.91 ERA.
Avoiding free passes has been crucial for the former Georgia Tech and Johns Creek High pitcher in his second pro season: He has allowed one or no walks in his past 15 starts for Lancaster and, before his promotion, Asheville of the South Atlantic League.
In addition to showing good control, Gold has induced lots of groundballs: In his three wins for Lancaster, he has recorded 30 groundouts and eight flyouts, according to the MiLB.com box scores.
Both of those traits are valuable for a pitcher in the Colorado minor-league system because Coors Field in Denver is such a good park for hitters.
Mark Wiley, the Rockies’ director of pitching operations, told the Purple Row blog that Colorado emphasizes mental toughness in its pitchers — “attitude over altitude” — because they’re bound to give up a lot of runs if they play at Coors.
Meanwhile, Gold’s former Tech and Johns Creek teammate, Matthew Gorst, also has been on a roll for Class A Greenville, a Boston Red Sox farm team.
Gorst, who pitches out of the bullpen, threw 1 2/3 no-hit, shutout innings Monday, July 24, to get the save in a 5-4 road win over Hickory. It was his fourth save of the year.
He also got a save in his previous appearance July 21, a 4-1 win at Greensboro. He was the winning pitcher in the appearance before that, a 7-4 victory at home against Hickory. For the season, Gorst is 5-3 with a 3.26 ERA.
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