Baumann goes distance in Bowie shutout

Double-A Bowie's Michael Baumann had just finished one of his best outings of the season, but all he wanted to do was give credit to his catcher.
"It's just Carlos Pèrez," he said of his batterymate. "He's someone I can lean on behind the plate. He knows the hitters and he knows my stuff better than I do. He knows how to call a great game."

With the backstop's help, the ninth-ranked Orioles prospect hurled a complete game as the Baysox bested the Flying Squirrels, 4-0, at Prince George's Stadium. Baumann (3-2) worked around four hits and two walks while fanning seven in the "Maddux."
The third-round 2017 pick threw 64 of his 97 pitches for strikes as the game clocked in at a tidy one hour and 58 minutes. It marked Baumann's second nine-inning complete game in under 100 pitches this season. On July 16, he made history with a no-hitter against Harrisburg on July 16.
"I just keep on attacking them and switching things up and trying to keep them off balance," the right-hander said. "I threw my fastball and slider and tried to work in my changeup and curveball as best as I could."
Baumann sat down the first eight batters before Johneshwy Fargas singled with two outs in the third inning. Perez fired a strike to second baseman Anderson Feliz as Fargas attempted to steal to end the inning.
Gameday box score
A walk to Bryce Johnson with one out in the fourth was canceled out as the Jacksonville University product induced a double play off the bat of MLB.com's No. 20 overall prospect Joey Bart.
Jalen Miller led off the sixth with a single to center. After Miller was nabbed by Garcia trying to steal second, Ryan Howard singled to left, but Baumann got Fargas to ground into a double play to finish the frame.
Bart walked in the seventh and second-ranked Giants prospect Heliot Ramos lined a two-out single to right in the ninth before Baumann capped the night by whiffing Bryce Johnson.
The Minnesota native's attitude heading out in the final frame was the same it had been all game long.
"Just keep doing what I was doing and let's see if they can do anything," Baumann said.
Even after Ramos got a hit, he kept a positive outlook.
"I just said, "So what?" and moved on to the next batter," Baumann said. "No damage was done, so with two outs, I was still confident enough to try and make a pitch and get a quick grounder or something like that."

Having his teammates behind him making both the simple and spectacular plays gives the 6-foot-4, 225-pound hurler an extra boost when toeing the rubber.
"When the ball has been put in play, they have been getting to them and making great plays," he said. "That helps me keep the pitches down, and at the same time, allows me to keep trust in myself knowing that they are going to make the plays behind me."
Baumann sports a 1.86 ERA with 50 strikeouts over 53 1/3 innings since being promoted to the Baysox on June 21. In 11 starts at Frederick, he posted a 1-4 record with a 3.83 ERA and 77 strikeouts over 54 innings.
Perez powered the Bowie offense with three RBIs, including a two-run dinger in the eighth. Cedric Mullins contributed three hits and two runs scored.