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Sports

Baysox Notebook: Pitching Continuing to Excel But Offense Still Struggling to Consistently Produce Runs

The Baysox (18-19) have dropped three games in a row.

After Bowie’s, May 11, Baysox manager Gary Kendall told reporters, “I thought, offensively, we’ve started to turn the corner the last two days because hits [had been] very scarce…but we’re trying to get everybody going on all cylinders.”

Yet, as has been the case for much of the early part of the season, Bowie's offense has taken another step back just as it appeared to finally be taking a step forward.

After scoring 17 combined runs during a three-game stretch from May 10-12, all wins, the Baysox have scored just five combined runs during the last three games, all losses at the hands of Akron.

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Bowie is last in the Eastern League (out of 12 teams) in runs per game (3.56), second to last in average (.232) and is striking out a league-high 8.7 times per game.

The Baysox have been held to three runs or less in 23 of their 37 games, including two runs or less in 15 of those games.

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Just three Bowie players—out of 15 that have seen action in at least four games—are hitting better than .252 and none are batting better than .280. Five Baysox are hitting .215 or worse.

Right fielder Ronnie Welty, though, does rank third in the Eastern League in home runs (7) after hitting four during the last 10 games.

And while its offense has struggled with consistency, Bowie's pitching has continued to excel. The Baysox boast a 3.60 team ERA and owns an Eastern-League best 1.24 team WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched).

Starters Steve Johnson (1-1, 2.57 ERA), Zach Clark (4-1, 3.05), Mitch Atkins (1-2, 3.38) and Wynn Pelzer (1-4, 3.63) each have ERA’s of 3.63 or better.

Reliever Daniel Klein, meanwhile, a third-round pick of the Orioles in 2009, has yet to allow a run in 7.1 innings of work with Bowie, recording six strikeouts while yielding just seven hits and one walk. He was promoted from Single-A Frederick May 2.

Fellow relievers Cole McCurry (3-0, 0.40), Pedro Viola (2-1, 1.69), Jose Diaz (0-2, 1.72) and Brandon Cooney (1-1, 2.70) all own ERA’s of 2.70 or better.

McCurry has tallied 28 strikeouts, while allowing just six walks and 10 hits, in 22.2 innings of work. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Diaz is second in the Eastern League in saves (11).

The Baysox begin a three-game series at Richmond tomorrow night at 7:05 before returning home Friday for a three-game series with Erie.

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