LINCOLN – The Lincoln Saltdogs and the American Association jointly announced today that Saltdogs right-handed pitcher Derek Gordon is the American Association’s Rawlings Pitcher of the Month.

Gordon earns the honor after going 5-0 with a 1.54 ERA over six starts in July.  The Saltdogs won each of the last seven games that Gordon started.  The team beat their opponents by a combined score of 46-11 in Gordon starts in July.  He recorded a quality start in all but one of his outings while boasting 31 strikeouts compared to 16 walks.  Gordon tossed a complete game shutout against the Salina Stockade on July 13th.

He earned the league’s Pointstreak Pitcher of the Week award on July 10th after allowing just one run over 15 innings that week.  Gordon allowed just one run over a period of 33 innings from June 27th to July 18th.  The one run came on a solo home run in Cleburne.

The right-hander from Lincoln is 7-2 with a 2.77 ERA for the Saltdogs this season.  He has gone the distance three times in 2017, tied for the second most in the league.  His ERA ranks fourth in the American Association while he is ninth in innings pitched (87.2) and twelfth in strikeouts (72).

The Saltdogs followed Gordon’s lead by posting a league-best 19-7 record in July, despite starting the month 1-4.  The pitching staff collected an ERA of just 2.58 in July, which was also the best in the league.

The 26-year-old Gordon spent two seasons in the Kansas City Royals organization before joining the Saltdogs.  He is a Lincoln Southeast High School graduate and is the brother of Royals star outfielder Alex Gordon.  Gordon is next scheduled to pitch on Saturday, August 5th against the Kansas City T-Bones at Haymarket Park.

The Saltdogs (43-23) try to set a new franchise record by winning their thirteenth straight game at home tonight against St. Paul.  First pitch is at 6:45 PM with coverage beginning at 6:15 PM on ESPN 1480 and saltdogs.com.

Tickets are on sale and can be purchased by calling (402) 474-2255 or visiting Saltdogs.com.  For the latest information on the Saltdogs follow the team on Facebook and Twitter/Instagram @saltdogsball.