Blake Aita Named Minor League Pitcher of the Day

The Cardinal Chronicle
Blake Aita Named Minor League Pitcher of the Day
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Blake Aita gave Peoria exactly what every club wants from a starting pitcher.
He filled up the strike zone, worked efficiently, kept runs off the board and handed the game to the bullpen with control firmly in place.

That earns attention.

Aita was named The Cardinal Chronicle's Minor League Pitcher of the Day after throwing five shutout innings Tuesday night in Peoria's 7-1 win over the Beloit Sky Carp.

The right-hander allowed no runs, struck out four and did not issue a walk, earning his first victory with the Chiefs. For a young pitcher looking to establish himself at the High-A level, that is the kind of outing that can matter beyond one night in the standings.

Five innings. No runs. No walks.

That is a clean line.

And clean lines usually come from clean work.

Aita did not overpower the game as much as he controlled it. He attacked hitters, trusted his stuff and forced Beloit to earn whatever it got. There is still a place in baseball for that, even in a time when every pitch is measured, tracked and broken apart by data before the next hitter steps into the box.

The old truth still holds: throw strikes, stay ahead and make hitters uncomfortable.

Aita did that Tuesday.

Peoria gave him early support, scoring in the first inning and building from there. But the story of the night began on the mound. Aita protected the lead, avoided free passes and kept the Chiefs from having to chase the game.

That matters for any team, but especially for a Peoria club trying to find steadier footing in the Midwest League West. A strong start settles everything. It keeps the defense engaged. It gives the offense room to breathe. It prevents the bullpen from being asked to cover too much ground.

Aita checked all those boxes.

The Chiefs’ bullpen finished what he started, with Patrick Galle working two scoreless innings and D.J. Carpenter closing out the ninth with a clean frame. But Aita set the tone. His work through five innings gave Peoria the foundation for one of its better all-around wins of the season.

For the Cardinals, nights like this are part of the development process. Not every start needs to be dominant in the headline sense. Sometimes the more important outing is the one where a pitcher shows command, composure and the ability to manage a lineup without giving away bases.

That was Aita on Tuesday night.

No walks. No runs. A win for Peoria.

That will play.

The Cardinal Chronicle’s Minor League Pitcher of the Day:
Blake Aita, RHP, Peoria Chiefs

The Cardinal Chronicle, in assocition with Gateway Sports
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