Bannon, Lowther point way for Baysox

It didn't happen the most conventional way, but a pair of Musketeers have again combined forces, this time to bring some much-needed optimism to the Orioles.
Baltimore's No. 23 prospectRylan Bannon homered while tying his career high with four hits and eighth-ranked Zac Lowther allowed one hit over 5 1/3 innings as Double-A Bowie blanked Erie, 4-0, on Thursday night at UPMC Park.

The duo were teammates at Xavier University and both were drafted in 2017 -- Bannon by the Dodgers and Lowther by the Orioles. The business side of baseball provided an unlikely reunification barely a year after they began their professional careers.
'It was a fun ride tonight for sure," Bannon said. "The Xavier boys did well together. I know what to expect playing behind him and I'm comfortable out there with him on the mound. Knowing you'll likely get a quality-to-great start from him is a huge confidence boost."
Coming off a two-hit performance that included a walk Wednesday, Bannon got the offense running for the Baysox in the first inning with a solo homer to left-center field, his fourth of the season. The 23-year-old singled to center in the third and fourth and dropped another base hit into left in the eighth before scoring on a two-RBI single by Orioles No. 25 prospect Brett Cumberland. Including his final two plate appearances Monday -- a double and a walk -- Bannon has reached safely six consecutive times. The infielder grounded out to end the ninth.
Gameday box score
Bannon's seventh multi-hit effort of the season lifted his slash line to .313/.394/.542 with 14 extra-base hits through 27 games. It marked the sixth four-hit game of his career and his second of 2019, the other also came against Erie on April 16.
"I give a lot of credit to my hitting coach [Keith Bodie] and the rest of the staff the Orioles have," Bannon said. "They worked with me on my swing a lot during Spring Training and we made a few adjustments. The hard work we all put in seems to be paying off so far for me. It's been a nice start."
A career .294 hitter, the native of Joliet, Illinois, was in the midst of an All-Star season with Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga last year after a strong debut with Rookie-level Ogden the year before. He was part of the blockbuster trade last July that sent All-Star Manny Machado to Los Angeles in exchange for top Orioles prospect Yusniel Díaz and three others. He finished 2018 with Bowie, giving him a leg up coming into this season, but the deal was initially tough on him.

"The trade was a shock," he admitted. "Trades can be tough in general, but the first one is always the hardest because you have no idea what to expect. Add in the fact I was bumped up [to Double-A] at the same time and it was a huge adjustment. I took it in stride as much as I could and took the lessons learned with me into the offseason, Spring Training and now here we are." 
The deal reunited Bannon with Lowther, the 74th overall pick in last year's Draft. The duo were roommates at Xavier and are again living together in Bowie.
"It's great to play with him again," Bannon said. "Every time he's out there on the mound, he seems to get a lot of ground balls that come my way, but that makes it fun. I'm comfortable playing behind him. He's got great stuff and it showed tonight."

Lowther (2-2) rebounded from his worst start of the year to allow a single and three walks while fanning six during his 89-pitch performance. The 23-year-old posted a 1.93 ERA in his first three outings of the season before yielding four runs, four hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings last Friday against Akron.
Zach Muckenhirn, Pedro Araujo and Tyler Erwin combined to strike out six over the final 3 1/3 frames to give the Baysox their first shutout of the season.
Cumberland doubled, singled and drove in three runs to give him seven RBIs in his last six games.
Erie starter Gregory Soto (0-1) allowed two runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings. The 26th-ranked Tigers prospect struck out a season-high seven and didn't walk a batter.