Purcey almost perfect for 51s

He pitched well enough in spring training to earn a spot in the Toronto Blue Jays' starting rotation. But after five outings, 51s left-hander David Purcey was demoted to Triple A and has been with Las Vegas since May 1.

Purcey displayed the form that landed him a job in the majors on Sunday at Cashman Field in a dominant performance against the Reno Aces.

He retired the last 21 batters he faced to finish a three-hitter, fanned five and walked none for the first time this season in Las Vegas' 9-0 victory.

"I've been working on being more aggressive on the mound and pitching more inside on guys, and my tempo was a little faster today," said the soft-spoken Purcey, who threw 106 pitches, 67 for strikes, and retired 27 of the 30 batters he faced. "Everything worked tonight. I tried to stay aggressive at hitters, whatever the count was, and go after them, and I got some good results."

The win was the 51s' franchise-record 11th shutout of the season and fourth against the Aces.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 240-pound Purcey, 27, retired the side in order in seven of nine innings and allowed only three singles, two in the second inning and one to lead off the third.

A first-round draft pick of Toronto in 2004 out of Oklahoma, Purcey improved to 8-6 with a 4.50 ERA this year for the 51s and has allowed 126 hits in 134 innings, with 75 walks and 105 strikeouts.

He made it through the seventh inning for the first time in 10 starts and became the first 51s pitcher this season to throw a nine-inning complete game at Cashman Field.

Left-hander Brian Burres notched the only other nine-inning complete game this year for the 51s, on June 17 at Reno.

"He's made some adjustments mechanically, and mentally today he was confident in everything he was doing," said Las Vegas catcher J.P. Arencibia, who hit two home runs and finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs. "He really wanted to attack guys and be aggressive, and it paid off."

51s first baseman Brian Dopirak went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, and left fielder Aaron Mathews finished 2-for-4 with a three-run shot to even the team's season series with Reno at eight games apiece.

The teams dubbed their season series the Silver State Diamond Challenge and created a Silver Plate Trophy to be awarded to the winner. But because the series ended in a tie, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Reno Mayor Bob Cashell will settle it with a draw of the cards the next time they meet.

The losing city's mayor will wear the other team's jersey for a full day of city business, including a City Council meeting.

The 51s (66-70), who outscored the Aces (72-63) 86-81 this year, won five of the first eight meetings between the teams before dropping five of the last eight.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.