Nashville Right-hander Enjoyed Complete-Game Shutout Among Two Winning Starts
Nashville, TN – Nashville Sounds right-hander Mike Fiers has been named the Pacific Coast League’s Pitcher of the Week for the final period of the 2011 season, spanning August 29th through September 5th.
The 26-year-old closed out his outstanding campaign by continuing to dominate the PCL in his final two outings. He allowed no earned runs and struck out 13 batters over 14.0 innings in a pair of winning starts for the Sounds during the season’s final week.
The highlight of his week was Nashville’s lone complete-game shutout of the 2011 season – a three-hitter on August 31st at Iowa. In that gem, Fiers issued one walk and struck out nine batters while throwing only 99 pitches (74 strikes) over nine inning and retiring 24 of his 28 batters in a 1-0 victory.
Five days later, Fiers wrapped up his year by earning his eighth win in 10 Triple-A starts by holding Memphis to two unearned runs on three hits over five innings in the Sounds’ 10-2 Labor Day victory.
Fiers finished his brilliant first year at the Triple-A level by going 8-0 in 10 starts for Nashville, posting a 1.15 ERA (8er/62.2ip) with 65 strikeouts in his 62 2/3 innings as a starter; he also logged 0.00 ERA in two innings of relief in an earlier PCL stint.
In his 18 starts between Nashville and Double-A Huntsville, he went 11-2 with a 1.43 ERA (17er/107.1ip); opponents batted just .169 against him over that stretch (65-for-385).
Fiers led the Milwaukee Brewers organization with 13 victories and a 1.86 ERA in 34 games in 2011.
In seven starts from August 1st through the end of the season, Fiers went 5-0 with a league-leading 0.60 ERA (3er/44.2ip), nearly a full point lower than his closest PCL competitor (Omaha’s Luis Mendoza, 1.59). Two of his three earned runs allowed came on solo home runs. Fiers’ 0.60 ERA since August 1st was the 2nd-best in affiliated ball, trailing only Philadelphia Phillies All-Star hurler Cliff Lee (6-0, 0.37 ERA in six starts).
Fiers’ award is the second accumulated by a Sounds player this season. Pitcher Frankie De La Cruz was previously honored as the PCL Pitcher of the Week for the July 18th-24th period.
The award is the second Pitcher of the Week honor of Fiers’ three-year pro career. He was honored earlier this season as the Southern League Pitcher of the Week for the June 27th to July 3rd period during his time at Huntsville.
