Keys' Miranda untouchable for six frames

When the Orioles announced they had signed Ariel Miranda in late May, general manager Dan Duquette told The Baltimore Sun, "We are hoping he can help us maybe later this year or sometime next year."

The Cuban left-hander took a big step toward making that happen Sunday night.

In just his sixth start in the Baltimore system, Miranda pitched six hitless innigs, striking out six and walking two, to pitch Class A Advanced Frederick to a 6-0 blanking of Potomac at Nymeo Field.

The Keys' no-hit bid didn't last much longer than that as Matt Taylor served up a single to Nationals first baseman Grant DeBruin with two outs in the seventh. It turned out to be Potomac's only hit of the evening. 

It was the first professional win and longest outing yet for the 26-year-old southpaw, besting his five-inning start a week ago against Salem. 

"He was very calm and relaxed tonight," Keys pitching coach Kennie Steenstra said. "The entire outing, he stayed within his delivery and was consistent with all of his pitches.

"I don't believe he even knew there was a no-hitter, he was that calm and collected the whole way through. I didn't even see it until the fifth because we were talking about how long we were going to go with him. To his credit, he kept doing what he was doing and was consistent in that way all night."

Miranda needed only 84 pitches -- 51 strikes -- to get through Sunday's gem, thanks to a three-pitch mix that earned plenty of praise from Steenstra.

"The very first day I saw him, the thing that stood out was his nice, loose arm," Steenstra said. "The ball just comes out easy. It's 90-94 [mph], but it looks effortless. ... The thing we're trying to concentrate on now is the changeup. He enjoys throwing his splitter so much that he wants to throw it all the time with two strikes. But his changeup is very good, too, so we're trying to get him to be a little more comfortable with it and make it another weapon he can use."

That's not to say there haven't been some bumps in the road. Aside from adapting to a new country and a new culture, there have been other changes for the Cuba native, starting with his delivery. During his seven seasons in Cuba's Serie Nacional -- including a 2013 campaign in which he posted a 3.24 ERA with 80 strikeouts and 28 walks in 77 2/3 innings -- Miranda survived by pitching up in the zone. The Orioles organization doesn't believe that'll cut it stateside, so Steenstra & Co. have worked with the left-hander on staying back more in his delivery and giving him a better angle at the lower half of the zone. Miranda was generally receptive to the changes, but it took a rough outing on July 8 -- he surrendered five runs on five hits and three walks in three innings -- for him to buy in completely.

"Sometimes a little failure will push you a little more," Steenstra said. "He wasn't exactly hesitant before, but he really bought into what we've been teaching him since then."

And that brings it back to Duquette's comments in May. Miranda is 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA, 24 strikeouts and eight walks over 22 innings in the Carolina League. Those numbers three levels from the game's biggest stage might not point to a Major League appearance this season, but given Miranda's advanced age and the steps he's taken in his last few starts, Steenstra wouldn't rule it out, either.

"That's for somebody else to decide," Steenstra said. "All I know is he's made great progress here. And being an older guy, he'll be able to move a little quicker. He just has to get used to the competition at each level. Not to say Cuba doesn't have good competition, but it's a little different here in how to work counts, work certain pitches, that stuff. He's been great at adjusting so far."