Only 24-hours after Dodgers ace and two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw wowed a sell-out crowd at LoanMart Field during his rehab assignment with the Dodgers Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, right-hander Lindsey Caughel picked up right where Kershaw left off with a dominating performance of his own in front of a near sell-out crown on Saturday night, leading the Quakes to a 3-0 shutout over the Cal League South first place Lancaster Jethawks.

Caughel now leads all Quakes starters in innings pitched (28.1) and is second in ERA (4.13), strikeouts (22) and WHIP (1.31). (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

It was clear right from the start that Caughel brought his A-game when he retired the first three batters he faced, two by strikeout. The 23-year-old Orlando native seemed to get stronger as the night went on as he allowed no runs and only five hits while walking one and striking out five.

​”My best pitch tonight was by far my two seam fastball,” said Caughel after the game. “I was able to command it in any count and felt extremely comfortable throwing it. It had a late deceptive movement and I was able to pitch it comfortably and effectively.”

Caughel’s seven innings of work matched his season high and he exited the game having thrown only 90 pitches. He said that he entered Saturday night’s game with a plan that he and Quakes pitching coach (and former Dodger reliever) Matt Herges have been working on recently.

“Learning to pitch [inside], especially against teams that like to swing early in the count is something that me and [Herges] have been talking about a lot lately,” Caughel said. “He’s really been helping me refine my game and using what I bring to table to become the best pitcher that I can be.”

Although the Quakes offense could only manage three runs, that proved to be more than enough for the hard-throwing Caughel. The Quakes scored one run in the second inning on an RBI double by first baseman Chris Jacobs and added two more in the third inning on a huge three-base error by Jethawks center fielder Teoscar Hernandez allowing Quakes second baseman Brandon Dixon to reach third base with no outs. Dixon scored on a single by catcher Jose Capellan. Quakes center fielder James Baldwin then reached base on a 1-6 force out of Capellan and he promptly stole second and third base and scored on an infield single by Quakes left fielder Adam Law, who went 2 for 4 on the night and extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Law also leads the Quakes with his .333 batting average.

Caughel was relieved by right-hander Rob Rogers who pitched a scoreless 8th allowing one hit and outfielder-turned-pitcher Blake Smith in a scoreless 9th also allowing one hit to pick up his first career save.

The win was only the second in the last 12 games for the Quakes, who find themselves in last place in the Cal League South Division with a dismal 7-16 record. That being said, Caughel’s outstanding performance on Saturday night couldn’t have come at a better time and hopefully the rest of the Quakes rotation can build on both Kershaw’s and Caughel’s great starts.