Shorebirds' Curran plates career-high six

Selected by the Orioles in the eighth round of the 2015 Draft, it's taken some time for Massachusetts high school product Seamus Curranto take a major step in the Minor Leagues. Combined with roller-coaster years at the plate and a season-ending knee injury last summerhis power at the plate has yet to shine through.
In his second game of full-season action with Class A Delmarva on Saturday, Curran put on a show, collecting three hits and a career-high six RBIs to power the Shorebirds to an 18-3 victory over Asheville at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

Gameday box score
In his first game with a full-season squad on Thursday, Curran admitted nerves got the better of him during an 0-for-3 night with two strikeouts against the Tourists. Being able to recognize those nerves helped calmed them.
"Tonight, I just wanted to get my timing down and use the whole field," Curran said. "I just felt smooth."
The 6-foot-6, 245-pound first baseman started his big night Saturday with a two-run double to left in the first inning, plating T.J. Nichting and Trevor Craport and helping open a 4-1 lead.

Three innings later, he smacked a two-run homer to left that gave the Shorebirds a 6-1 cushion.
Curran eclipsed his previous personal best with a sixth RBI when he plated Will Robertson with a groundout in the seventh.

The 20-year-old out of Agawam High School said he finds himself more thankful for nights like Saturday after the more than nine-month journey he took back to professional baseball.
"This all made me appreciate being able to play professional baseball," he said. "Not many people get to do this.
"But I don't get in my head mentally now. I just want to leave the last at-bat where it was, positive or negative, and worry about each one when it comes."
Curran batted .240 with three homers in the New York-Penn League last summer, but a shattered left patella suffered July 11 at Auburn ended his third season in the Minors after 13 games. Through that time, he hadn't earned a full-season opportunity.
A successful rehab process helped restore the power Curran used to hit eight homers in 15 Spring Training games, impressing the Orioles enough to assign him to the South Atlantic League.

"There's always doubt with a knee injury with a big guy like me, just being able to prove I can still swing around the field," he said. "When you can do that, that's where my confidence came. And to come into this game and prove I can do it up north is big."
After three long seasons in Rookie and short season ball, Curran was energized by Saturday's performance and said it helped give him a little perspective on the opportunity he has and the potential he possesses. 
"I'm only 20. I'm young for the league, but it's good when they believe in you and think you can handle the competition," Curran said. "It's just a step, but you want to be sturdy and have good seasons and good numbers. If you struggle, just take it as a learning experience, get better and, hopefully, it doesn't happen again."
Robertson led the Shorebirds with four hits and knocked in three runs.