Stallings, McSweeney combine on Baysox no-no

Before most of the country could even finish Mother’s Day brunch, the Double-A Bowie Baysox put themselves in the franchise record book.

Baltimore prospect Garrett Stallings went six stellar innings, and Morgan McSweeney was perfect in the seventh, as the duo combined to no-hit visiting Harrisburg in a 4-0 Bowie win for the first game of a Sunday doubleheader.

From their 12:05 p.m. ET first pitch, the Baysox were locked in. Stallings walked Harrisburg’s Taylor Gushue with two outs in the first inning and Jackson Cluff with one gone in the third. Those were the only baserunners the right-hander permitted. Stallings retired the final 11 batters he faced -- including three straight via strikeout --before inducing a groundout to second base Jake Alu to finish his day.

Stallings threw 51 of his 75 pitches for strikes and recorded just three outs on the fly against eight on the ground. The effort provided a bounceback performance for Stallings, who yielded four runs -- one more than he’d allowed in his first three starts combined -- on four hits over five innings at Richmond on May 1. The Tennessee product dropped his ERA to 2.63 for the season with Sunday’s sterling showing.

Quite a fun Mother's Day.@UMCapitalRegion

— Bowie Baysox (@BowieBaysox) May 8, 2022

With the lead and history at hand, McSweeney sealed the deal, though not without a heart-stopping moment. On the penultimate pitch of the game, Harrisburg’s K.J. Harrison laced a line drive down the left-field line which hooked just foul, providing McSweeney one more chance to finish things off. The reliever came through, inducing a flyout to right from Harrison to complete the 11th no-hitter in Baysox history.

Harrisburg’s Evan Lee was the tough-luck loser in the matchup. Washington’s No. 18 prospect allowed just one run on two hits over five solid innings, striking out eight and walking a pair.

The Baysox touched Lee for a run in the bottom of the fourth on Joseph Ortiz’s RBI groundout to second. After the starter’s departure, Bowie got three insurance tallies against Erik Manoah Jr. in the sixth.

Baseball’s No. 62 overall prospect, Gunnar Henderson, led the way at the plate for the Baysox. The third-ranked Orioles talent was the game’s only multihit performer, going 2-for-3 with two singles and two runs scored.