De La Cruz throws Fire Frogs' first no-hitter

In his fourth Florida State League start, Jasseel De La Cruz was untouchable.

The Braves’ No. 25 prospect fired the first no-hitter in Class A Advanced Florida history on Saturday as he led the Fire Frogs past Jupiter, 12-0. He needed only 89 pitches to accomplish the feat and ultimately faced two above the minimum in the outing, issuing two walks and striking out four in his first career shutout.

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De La Cruz, 21, retired the first five batters he faced before issuing a two-out walk in the second inning. He didn’t allow another baserunner until the seventh inning, when a walk to Hammerheads second baseman Riley Mahan snapped a stretch of 14 straight retired by the right-hander.

De La Cruz bounced back from the one-out free pass to strike out the next two batters on seven total pitches, and he needed just five pitches to get through the eighth inning, even after experiencing a lengthy layoff while the Fire Frogs put up a four-spot in the previous half-inning.

Returning for the ninth inning, De La Cruz induced three consecutive groundouts to seal his no-hitter. He retired Victor Victor Mesa, Miami’s No. 2 prospect, for the final out, capping an 11-pitch frame.

Overall, De La Cruz threw 11 or fewer pitches in seven of nine frames in the outing. He threw only five pitches in two different frames and needed only 20 pitches to navigate the fourth through sixth innings.

What’s more, De La Cruz has now gone the distance twice in four starts since his promotion to the Florida State League. He tossed his first career complete game on May 5, when he allowed two runs on three hits over six innings in a losing effort against Tampa.

The Braves promoted De La Cruz, a Dominican Republic native whom they signed in June 2015, to the Fire Frogs after he had registered a 2.50 ERA with 22 strikeouts and five walks over 18 innings (four starts) at Class A Rome.

He has yet to allow more than three earned runs in any of his eight starts this season, registering a 2.15 ERA and 0.93 WHIP with a 48/12 K/BB in 46 innings between the two levels.

The Fire Frogs’ offense backed De La Cruz’s dominant performance with an 18-hit attack, as all but one starter finished with at least one hit.

Grayson Jenista, the Braves’ No. 14 prospect, and No. 27 Jeffery Ramos combined for five hits and four runs from the middle of the order. Jenista finished with a season-high three hits, going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs, while Ramos connected on his fifth home run as part of a 2-for-4, two-RBI performance.

Kevin Josephina, a 22-year-old infielder from Curacao, had a perfect night at the plate, going 5-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs.