Reading right-hander Trevor May ran into Harrisburg lefty Dan Rosenbaum earlier this year during a series in which both were charting pitches behind home plate. The hurlers have had similar up-and-down seasons and had a chance to spend a few minutes talking about their craft.

May also watched a game in which Rosenbaum did not have his best stuff but battled through six innings on May 28.

"I was impressed with that," May said.

Rosenbaum was 6-1 through May but is now 7-9 with an ERA of 3.91 and has not won a game since June. May, the top prospect in the Philadelphia system, was 5-0 in April with an ERA of 2.40 in five starts but then lost 10 of his next 14 decisions.

But after an ERA of around 6.00 for June and July, May has showed better control in his first three August starts. He allowed at least four walks in six straight starts through July 28 but has given up just seven free passes in three starts this month. For the season, he is 9-10 with a 4.85 ERA in 24 starts.

"He started out well and had some bumps in the road," said Benny Looper, assistant general manager, player personnel, for Philadelphia. "His last two or three starts have been much improved. He was throwing too many belt-high fastballs."

"He's a four-pitch guy. He gets a lot of strikes. He was just throwing too many hittable pitches," Looper added. "He's been through this before. You can go through these rough moments. You have to be able to turn it back around."

Looper said it's possible teams that saw May a second or third time in the middle of the season may have had an advantage.

"But it's more the quality of pitches and location of pitches" that dictates success, Looper said.

May allowed two earned runs and five hits in seven innings in a loss at Richmond on Aug. 2, then gave up two earned runs on seven hits in five innings in a loss at Trenton five days later.

A fourth-round pick out of Kelso High in Washington in 2008, May was 10-8 with an ERA of 3.63 in 27 starts for Class A Advanced Clearwater of the Florida State League last year before being promoted to the Eastern League for the first time this year.

"You have to trust your stuff. I have to right myself," he said. "The big thing for me is to keep plugging away and keep the team in the game."

Being close to the major media markets of the Northeast is a change for May from the small crowds in the Florida State League, but he embraces the increased attention.

"It's a great atmosphere in Reading. It's great to pitch at home," he said, pointing out the famous Crazy Hot Dog Vendor and the team's many promotions.

Not so Ruf: You can't call Reading first baseman Darin Ruf a surprise, since he entered this season with a lifetime batting average of better than .300, but the 20th-round pick hasn't missed a beat during his first year in Double-A. The 2009 20th-round pick who turned 26 in July is batting .308 and belted his career-high 25th homer Sunday at New Britain. "He's had a tremendous year," said Benny Looper. "He's hit since we moved him up. From [Class A] to Double-A is a big jump."

Moving on up: Dylan Bundy, the Orioles' top pitching prospect, is slated to make his Eastern League debut Tuesday at home in the first game of a doubleheader for Bowie against Erie. A first-round pick out of high school last year, Bundy was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in eight starts at Class A Delmarva and a 6-3 record with a 2.98 ERA in 11 starts with Class A Advanced Frederick.

One of his teammates this season at Frederick was infielder Travis Adair, the son of Baltimore pitching coach Rick Adair. "[My dad] asked me what I thought [about Bundy] every now and then. We talked about it," Adair said. "The main thing that impresses me is that he is a good kid and a hard worker. He wants to learn."