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05/26/2007 10:50 PM ET
Wings' Gassner tosses four-hitter
Twins farmhand pitches first shutout in nearly five years
By Zack Hample / Special to MLB.com
Rochester's Dave Gassner won for the first time in 10 starts since last August 24. (Mike Janes/MLB.com)

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Dave Gassner was unstoppable on Saturday night.

Gassner tossed a four-hitter for his first shutout in nearly five years as the Rochester Red Wings posted their second straight 3-0 blanking of the Durham Bulls.

A 28-year-old left-hander, Gassner threw 71 of his season-high 107 pitches for strikes. He limited the Bulls (23-26) to two singles, two doubles and one walk while striking out four.

It was his second career shutout and first since three-hitting Brevard County on July 15, 2002 while pitching for Class A Advanced Dunedin.

"This one was 10 times better because of the people I was facing," the Purdue University product said.

Those people included four players with Major League experience -- Ben Zobrist, Jorge Velandia, Brent Butler and Joel Guzman -- and top pitching prospect Andy Sonnanstine, who had won his previous five starts and entered with a 2.30 ERA.

Gassner, who went 1-0 in two starts for the Minnesota Twins in 2005, lowered his ERA from 7.39 to 5.75.

"I'm just happy that I could contribute to the team's success," he said. "After my last start, I went into the coaches' office and got a good old boot to the bottom."

The office visit paid off as Gassner regained the form that had led to early-season success. He attacked the outside corner with two-seam fastballs, pounded the inner half with four-seamers and kept the Bulls off-balance with changeups and curveballs.

The four strikeouts matched a season high for Gassner, who pitched past the sixth inning for the first time this year. His last complete game was a rain-shortened 5 2/3-inning effort against Toledo on June 17, 2005.

The Red Wings (24-20) broke a scoreless tie in the third. Denard Span drew a one-out walk, stole second base and scored on a single by Alexi Casilla. Matt Moses knocked in Casilla with a two-out base hit.

Casilla, the only player on either team with more than one hit, went 3-for-4 with an RBI single in the seventh.

Sonnanstine lasted 6 1/3 innings and gave up all three runs -- two earned -- on eight hits. He walked one and fanned five.

Zack Hample is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.