On a night when the Baysox lost their top bullpen pitcher, and had two others unavailiable, Liz had to give the team a strong (and long) outing. And a strong outing he gave, going 9 innings, stiking out 8, walking 3 and hitting one other. He faced 30 batters, only three above the minimum, and after some early control issues, retired the last 17 batters in order. In the 8th inning, it seemed that Baysox manager Bien Figueroa might have considered taking Liz out of the game, as he had action in the bullpen. However, after a 3-run outburst from the Baysox offense in the bottom of the 8th, the bullpen was quiet, and Liz was allowed to finish out. The final out, it should be noted, was no gimmie, as a lined shot by Senators 1B Juan Melo made Baysox LF Ruddy Yan nearly run into the outfield wall while making the catch.
Liz' performance was the first no hitter in the Eastern League since Tyler Clippard did the same to the Harrisburg Senators last year. Clippard is now starting for the New York Yankees. With his stellar performance tonight, Liz improves his record to 4-2.
On the other side of the field, Washington Nationals prospect Collin Balester (2-3, 2.94) also pitched a fantastic game, giving up only 2 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks. In the course of 7 innings, he struck out 5. After going 1-2-3 in the frist three innings, Balester gave up consecutive 1-out singles to 2B Paco Figueroa and SS Luis Hernandez. They were then driven in on consecutive 2-out singles by CF Jeff Fiorentino and RF Val Majewski. Those would be the only runs that Balester gave up. In the 8th inning, the Senators brought in Daniel Foli to try and hold the Baysox. Foli ended up giving up 3 walks and 2 hits after getting his first two outs. Hernandez drove in Figueroa and Majewski added the night's final two runs with his single off of Foli.
- Tomorrow: Harrisburg Senators (19-35) @ Bowie Baysox (28-26)
- Pitching Probables: LHP Mike Hinckley (4-4, 5.33 ERA) vs. LHP Oscar Alvarez (6-1, 3.92)
NOTES: Liz' 8 strikeouts brought his season total to 60, good for the team lead... Liz also set the team high for longest outing this season, previously it had been 8.1 innings pitched by Oscar Alvarez at Altoona on May 18th... Majewski now has 27 RBI for the season, good enough to tie him for second on the team with Luis Hernandez... Oscar Salazar had another tough night at the plate going 0-3 and dropping his average to .315 on the year. He did draw a walk in the 8th and came around to score on Majewski's single...
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