Brown spins hitless outing for Lowell

The jump to the pros hasn't seemed to faze Brian Brown.
Brown pitched five hitless innings, facing one batter over the minimum in Class A Short Season Lowell's 10-5 loss to Hudson Valley on Sunday at LeLacheur Park. It was the fourth straight strong start for the Red Sox's ninth-round pick in last month's Draft.

Box score
"It's been a little bit of an adjustment so far," Brown said. "I had two weeks of not throwing in a game. It feels like spring baseball again, just getting back into it. I felt pretty sharp tonight."
Brown (0-2) has yet to record a Minor League win, although he's given up three earned runs over 15 2/3 innings. It was more of the same on Sunday, but his first outing without yielding a hit.
"My fastball was locating OK, not as good as I wanted it to, but it was my fastball getting most of the outs tonight," he said. "My changeup is my best secondary pitch and that was doing well, too."
The Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year at North Carolina State walked Tyler Frank in the first after Tanner Dodson reached on a wild third strike. Brown was unfazed, getting Chris Betts to bounce into an inning-ending double play.

"Getting that first inning, I think the first inning is the hardest one," he said. "Getting that over with was really good. The guys behind me played great defense, and it helped having a Gold Glover [Brandon Phillips] playing behind you. That really gives you some confidence."
Brown walked Adrian Rondon to open the second but promptly got Jacson McGowan to roll into another double play and retired the next 10 batters. He fielded a comebacker off the bat of Ford Proctor to end his outing.
After what could have been a rocky start, he settled down and registered his best outing as a pro. Using mostly his fastball to get ahead in the count, Brown said he could dictate the rest of the game.
"When I'm in my windup and things are going good, I can feel myself getting into a rhythm," he added. "I'm just lucky the baseball luck was on my side today. Just getting more experience in these different situations, I want to get sharper with my pitches and keep getting back into the flow of things."
Brown pitched a career-high 98 2/3 innings in his final season with the Wolfpack, nearly 20 innings more than his previous high, before making his professional debut with the Spinners. After taking some time off between the Draft and his New York-Penn League debut, the Pennsylvania native has had to stretch back out as a starter.
"I feel good, so I'm all for it," Brown said. "As long as my arm feels good, I'm all for pitching this much."
Erik Ostberg doubled to lead off the sixth and end the no-hit bid after Taylor Ahearn relieved Brown.
Frank, the Rays' second-round pick out of Florida Atlantic, homered, singled and drove in a career-high five runs for the Renegades. Hudson Valley broke open the game with an eight-run seventh.
Phillips, who signed with the Red Sox on June 27, smacked a three-run homer for the Spinners.