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Baltimore Orioles: Bowie’s Michael Baumann Tosses A No-Hitter

ByChuck Boemmel|
BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 13: The Oriole Bird celebrates after the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays during game one of a doubleheader at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 13, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JULY 13: The Oriole Bird celebrates after the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays during game one of a doubleheader at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 13, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)

Starting pitchers in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system have been producing at a high level of late.  The most recent performance occurred in Bowie on Tuesday night.

Over the past few days, starting pitchers for the Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates have put on quite a display of superior performances.

The first one came Sunday in Frederick (A-Adv.) when the Orioles #11 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, right-hander Brenan Hanifee tossed a complete-game shutout against the Salem Red Sox (Boston affiliate).  Hanifee scattered five hits and struck out four in the 6-0 win.

Monday saw two pitchers throw 8.0 innings in their starts.  Bowie Baysox (AA) left-hander and #25 prospect, Alex Wells allowed two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and picked up the win in the Baysox 4-2 defeat of the Harrisburg Senators (Washington affiliate).  Delmarva Shorebirds’ (A-Low) left-hander Ryan Wilson also allowed two runs on four hits but struck out 9 in the team’s 4-2 win over the Lakewood BlueClaws (Philadelphia affiliate).

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Tuesday night in Bowie, in a case of anything you can do, I can do better,  the Orioles #24 prospect, Michael Baumann, tossed a no-hitter against the Senators.  The  Baysox right-hander walked two and struck out 10 to improve his record in the Eastern League to 2-1.  Baumann needed just 94 pitches, 63 which were strikes, to go through 28 Senators’ hitters.

Baumann led off the game by walking Harrisburg’s leadoff hitter Michael A. Taylor, who was taken off the bases as part of a double-play.  He induced seven swinging strikeouts and three called strikeouts in the game and his second walk did not occur until the 7th inning.  Baumann threw no more than 16 pitches in an inning and in fact, needed less than 10 pitches to complete an inning five times.  The game ended when Baumann caught Taylor looking at strike three.

The no-hitter was the third in Bowie franchise history and was the first since Radhames Liz did so on June 1, 2007 in Bowie, ironically enough, against the Harrisburg Senators.

Since his promotion to Bowie on June 21st, Baumann is 2-1 with one save over five appearances (three starts).  He has pitched to a 0.33 ERA over 27.0 innings and has walked eight while striking out 32.  Baumann has held Eastern League opponents to a .166 batting average and has generated a  0.67 WHIP.

Long maligned, the Baltimore Orioles minor league system is starting to bear fruit, especially among pitchers, as these recent pitching gems illustrate.  Let us hope the trend continues, Orioles fans.

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