'Birds' Moore fires six no-hit frames
The Orioles prospect tossed six hitless innings and combined with relievers Jason Gurka and David Walters on a two-hitter as the IronBirds blanked the Renegades, 5-0, at Dutchess Stadium.
Moore struck out two, walked three and improved to 2-0 in three starts. He's allowed two runs on 10 hits while holding New York-Penn League opponents to a .169 average over 17 frames.
"I've been mainly working on my sinker and trying to get groundball outs," said Moore, who registered nine groundouts against seven fly balls.
Hudson Valley, which began the night ranked 12th in the 14-team league with a .219 team average, got its only hit when Elias Otero led off the eighth with a double. He was the second Renegade to reach second; no Hudson Valley players reached third.
Moore walked the leadoff hitter in each of the first two innings but ran into no further trouble. After issuing the walk in the second, he retired the next 14 batters before walking Derek Dietrich with two outs in the sixth. He got the next batter on a groundout to end his night.
"I was actually just over my normal pitch count of 90," Moore said. "I was getting into deep counts in the last couple innings, so I wasn't surprised [at being pulled]."
A native of Fredericksburg, Va., whom the Orioles selected in the 26th round of the 2007 Draft, Moore had never taken a no-hitter so far into a game at any level.
"It's a team effort, really," he said, singling out center fielder Trent Mummey for making a sliding catch in the sixth to preserve the gem.
The IronBirds, who snapped a three-game losing streak, got a two-run homer from designated hitter Zach Moore in the fourth and a three-run blast by third baseman Adam Gaylord in the fifth. Second baseman Omar Casamayor went 3-for-4, lifting his batting average to .361.
Omar Bencomo (0-1) took the loss, allowing five runs -- four earned -- on seven hits over five frames. He struck out four and walked one.
John Parker is a contributor to MLB.com.