• Game 1 box score
• Brad Furnish's player page • Game 2 box score • Jeff Allison's player page • Shop for Minor League gear It was a pitchers' night on Friday at Roger Dean Stadium, where the Palm Beach Cardinals and Jupiter Hammerheads traded two-hit shutouts to split their doubleheader. In the opener, Palm Beach's Brad Furnish snapped a personal five-game losing streak, going the distance in a 1-0 blanking of the Hammerheads. In the nightcap, Jeff Allison yielded two hits over six innings as Jupiter bounced back with a 4-0 victory. Furnish (8-8), a 23-year-old left-hander, fanned four and walked two as he picked up his first win since a 3-1 triumph over Fort Myers on June 24. "I've been making mechanical adjustments that allowed me to be more consistent in the strike zone and get ahead in the count," he explained. "Over the past few outings, I didn't throw that badly, but I would miss one little thing that would hurt me. "The changes I've made have enabled me to be more aggressive, work at a faster pace and keep the defense in the game." Furnish, selected by St. Louis out of TCU in the second round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, added that in working on his mechanics, he got help from Palm Beach pitching coach Dennis Martinez, Cardinals Minor League pitching coordinator Dyar Miller and his father, Keith, who has been to his last two starts. "My dad was in town for my last start and we talked about a few things afterward," Furnish said. "Coach Martinez brought up the same points, so we were on the same page of what we wanted to do. It's amazing how quickly adjustments can work if you make them the right way." The two hits off Furnish were a second-inning single by Daron Roberts and a fifth-inning double by Spike McDougall. The Cards scored the game's lone run in the sixth on Pete Kozma's RBI single. Christhian Martinez (2-5) also went the distance for the Hammerheads, giving up a run on five hits and fanning five without issuing a walk. In the nightcap, Allison (8-7) struck out three without a walk as the 23-year-old right-hander picked up his fifth victory in six decisions. "Tonight, I had everything going for me," said Allison, a 2003 first-round pick of the Marlins whose career has been marked by substance abuse issues. "I wish I could have gone out for the seventh inning, but it's not about that, it's about winning the game." Matt Yourkin fanned one and walked one in a scoreless seventh to close it out for Jupiter (26-20). "I definitely feel like I've gotten better in the second half of the season," said Allison. "I think I've shown I can do what I once did and get better. "One of the things I've been able to do is cut down on walks. Little by little, I feel like I'm getting better every time out." The only two hits off the Massachusetts native were singles by Antonio DeJesus in the second and Aaron Luna in the fifth. The Hammerheads supported Allison with timely hitting. John Purdom and Bryan Petersen homered and Vasili Spanos contributed two doubles and an RBI. Eddie Degerman (3-1) allowed a run on five hits, fanning two and walking three, over 3 2/3 innings for the Cardinals (23-24). Alan Friedman 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. |
