Jon Link takes command for Wingnuts in 3-1 win

Jon Link gives maximum effort on every pitch he throws, and that seems to be exactly what the Wingnuts need.

Manager Kevin Hooper has talked for weeks about how the Wingnuts need to make a season-making run up the American Association standings, and Link has been the embodiment of his manager’s wishes and of the run itself.

Link allowed one run in six innings on Tuesday in Wichita’s 3-1 win at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, improving to 4-0 since joining the Wingnuts two weeks ago. Wichita is 11-4 since Link returned for his third stint with the team, surging into first place after winning seven of its last eight.

“This year when I came here, there wasn’t a real alpha male in the clubhouse,” Link said. “I’m trying to come here and bring that to these guys, and help these guys in any way I can, whether it’s talking to them, showing them different things. The winning attitude I try to bring day-in and day-out, I think that’s very important.”

Link never pitches at anything less than full speed. That’s not a sustainable approach for most starters, who pace themselves for the long haul and reach back for something extra only in high-leverage situations.

There is no “something extra” for Link, whose in-game emotions are thinly veiled, exposing a competitiveness that also works in his favor. It’s likely no coincidence that the Wingnuts have transformed, since Link’s arrival, from a plodding second-place team into a division leader with swagger.

The presence of Link, who pitched briefly for the Los Angeles Dodgers and who has left the Wingnuts twice in past seasons to pitch in affiliated minor-league baseball, has rounded out a pitching staff that added former big-leaguer Scott Richmond this week.

Richmond made two starts for the Wingnuts before leaving to pitch for gold-medal-winning Canada in the Pan-American Games.

On Tuesday, Link allowed a hit in five of his six innings but kept Sioux Falls scoreless in the sixth, when a one-out triple by David Bergin preceded a sacrifice fly. Link had been pitching in relief in the Miami Marlins chain and has been working to extend his pitch count – he finished with 94 pitches on Tuesday.

“Did I expect it? Yes. Did I realistically think it was going to happen? No. I thought it would be a slower transition (to starting),” Link said. “I was well rested coming here.…Well-rested, working hard, throwing program, conditioning. Just trying to come out here and take the lead.”

Link had five strikeouts – three with men on base, preventing an earlier Sioux Falls breakthrough. He prevented damage after a Brian Humphries leadoff double in the fourth inning.

The Wingnuts have seen a Link-like surge in other areas from Harrison Kain, who had a pair of hits on Tuesday, including a single during Wichita’s three-run second, and is hitting .295 since his acquisition this month.

Kain gives Wichita speed from the No. 9 spot in the lineup and has vastly improved the Wingnuts’ outfield defense with his range and arm strength from left field or right. His single in the third was the second of four straight Wingnuts hits, leading to their only run of the night.

Luis Hernandez preceded Kain with a leadoff double, and Kain was followed by hits from Jayce Ray and David Espinosa to make it 2-0 before Starlin Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly two batters later.

The Wingnuts had three hits the rest of the night, but Link made one productive inning stand up. In four starts, he has allowed 15 hits over 22 2/3 innings, with 22 strikeouts and two walks.

“I let him do his thing,” Hooper said. “It’s so fun to watch. It’s so crisp out of his hand. Maybe two out of the four starts he maybe hasn’t been his best. But look what happens tonight when he’s not at his best. He’s one of the best pitchers in the league no matter how he’s feeling.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2015 at 11:25 PM with the headline "Jon Link takes command for Wingnuts in 3-1 win."