Phillies' top pick Biddle has strong outing for Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Lefthander Jesse Biddle said he never lost confidence, but he did admit that his best performance of the young season couldn't have come at a better time.

The Phillies' first-round draft choice last year from Germantown Friends, Biddle allowed one run in five innings of a 3-1 loss Monday to visiting Savannah at FirstEnergy Park. He struck out four and walked two. Biddle entered the weekend 0-4 with a 5.91 ERA.

Monday's effort tied for his longest outing in five starts. Biddle had thrown 31/3 innings in each of his two previous appearances.

"It gave me some confidence," Biddle said afterward. "I don't want to say I didn't have any, and I knew I could get guys out, but it was a matter of seeing it and seeing my stuff work."

Biddle threw in the 88-90 m.p.h. range. His signature pitch is a curveball that he said he was looking to be more consistent.

Even in high school, Biddle said, he was always a slow starter, and he expects to come around.

Lakewood manager Chris Truby said that the jump to low single A was a big one for the 19-year-old Biddle, who spent last year pitching for both the Phillies' Gulf Coast League team and short-season Williamsport squad in the New York-Penn League.

If there is any fault, Truby said, it's that Biddle tries too hard, and that could cause him to press.

"He has high expectations for himself being a No. 1 pick and a local kid as well," said Truby, whose team entered the weekend 12-14, in sixth place in the South Atlantic League Northern Division. "He has a lot on his plate, but he has handled it great, and is a mature kid and will be fine. This was a good outing for him, and everything is moving in the right direction."

Another Phillies first-round pick, Lakewood rightfielder Anthony Hewitt, finds himself at a crucial stage in his career. Hewitt just turned 22 and has never played above his current level. He entered the weekend batting .244, which won't turn heads, but it is his highest average in professional baseball.

"The biggest improvement he has made is the mental side of the game," Truby said of Hewitt. "Day in and day out he is doing the things he has to do not only during a game but prior to a game."