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by civ ollilavad
Drew Pomeranz made it look pretty easy in his professional debut Friday night. And for those who know the left-hander from Collierville, Tenn., it comes as no surprise.
Pomeranz, selected fifth overall by the Indians in last year's Draft, struck out nine over 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his Minor League debut as the Class A Advanced Kinston Indians walked off with a 7-6, 10-inning win over the Winston-Salem Dash.
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The 22-year-old southpaw struck out the first batter he faced, Daniel Wagner, then caught Jose Martinez looking. He rolled through the first three frames without allowing a hit.
Wagner finally singled up the middle to open the fourth and, when he stole second, Pomeranz buckled down, striking out former first-round pick Jared Mitchell and Ian Gac to end the frame.
Andy Wilkins beat Pomeranz leading off the fifth, singling and taking second on first baseman Chase Burnette's throwing error. Again, the Ole Miss product responded, fanning Jason Bour and popping up Nick Cioll and Kyle Davis to escape.
Pomeranz reached his pitch count in the sixth after striking out Austin Yount -- Kinston manager Aaron Holbert brought in 2009 27th-round pick Tyler Sturdevant, who blew the save.
All was forgotten more than an hour later, though, when Ron Rivas ended the rain-delayed game with an RBI single in the 10th, giving reliever Travis Turek (1-0) the win. Brandon Kloess took the loss after allowing two runs over 1 1/3 frames.
For Pomeranz, who saw time with Cleveland in Spring Training last month, the debut was a long-awaited one. He was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award after being taught how to pitch by his father, Mike, a four-year letterman at Mississippi. His older brother, Stuart, was drafted by the Cardinals out of high school, spent last year with Double-A Tulsa and began this season in the Dodgers system.