Diaz throws a beauty as Kernels shutout Quad Cities

CEDAR RAPIDS - Jairo Diaz didn't want to do a postgame interview by himself. He understandably had a security blanket handy in bilingual Cedar Rapids Kernels teammate Kevin Moesquit.

But the Venezuelan understands English well and wasn't afraid to speak it when answering one question Saturday night. Why did the Los Angeles Angels convert you from a catcher to a pitcher three years ago, Jairo?

“I couldn't hit,” Diaz replied to a couple of chuckles from nearby teammates.

Definitely looks like the kid can pitch, though. He dealt seven shutout innings to Quad Cities in a 5-0 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

“I kept my fastball down,” said Diaz, also in English. “Every time.”

The 21-year-old right-hander wasn't dominant in a strikeout sense, picking up just one, the penultimate batter he faced. But Quad Cities hit very few balls hard against him, and his teammates helped him out with three double plays, a couple of the around-the-horn variety.

This was a much different Diaz than in his first start, when he was tagged for six runs, four earned, in 4 2/3 innings. His pitch count was just 69, meaning he easily could have finished things himself later in the season.

The Angels are limiting Kernels starters to about 70 pitches their first couple times through the rotation.

“For me, he was just getting ahead of the hitters,” said Kernels Manager Jamie Burke. “He kept them off balance with all of his pitches. But the main thing was he was throwing strikes, and he had great tempo out there.”

Cedar Rapids (6-3) ended a two-game losing streak with Diaz and a little help from a lot of guys offensively. Seven had hits, with Kaleb Cowart notching his first home run of the season, a well-struck ball to the opposite field in left.

The highly touted teenage third baseman finished his first Midwest League week hitting .378.

“Obviously we're not going to be great all the time,” Burke said. “But to see everybody get involved tonight was something good.”