EL notes: Bowie's Gausman settles in

Kevin Gausman had a locker in the spacious clubhouse of the Baltimore Orioles during Spring Training, and nearby were Major League pitchers Miguel Gonzalez, Jim Johnson and Darren O'Day.

"I was right next to O'Day, and he is a funny character," said Gausman, a first-round pick out of LSU in 2012. "They were messing with me, probably not as much as I deserve. They showed me the ropes of my first Spring Training. I didn't expect to be there very long, but I was there until the last week."

Gausman, 22, who impressed Orioles manager Buck Showalter, will try to take what he learned from big league pitchers into this season with the Bowie Baysox.

"The big thing is to watch their routine and how they go about their business," the personable Gausman said of his time around the Orioles in Sarasota. "They definitely have the big league mentality. The earlier you learn that, the better."

In his pro debut last season, the Colorado native was a combined 0-1 with an ERA of 3.60 in five games over 15 innings split between Aberdeen and Frederick. He then moved to Bowie and pitched three scoreless innings in Game 3 of the division playoffs at Akron.

"It was a very strong three innings," said Gary Kendall, who returns this season as the Bowie manager.

Gausman began this season as the No. 37 prospect overall, according to MLB.com, and No. 2 behind Dylan Bundy in the Baltimore system. Bundy was not with Bowie to start the season due to mild tightness in his right elbow.

Gausman made his first start of the season for Bowie on April 6 at Harrisburg and allowed six runs -- four earned -- and eight hits with eight strikeouts and no walks in a 6-1 loss. He then went six innings and allowed just one run on two hits with five strikeouts in his home debut April 11, a 5-1 win over Akron.

"In Harrisburg, I think I was around the zone too much, and tonight I just tried to focus on hitting my spots early in the count and then expanding the zone later," Gausman told reporters after the April 11 outing. "It's always good to come home and get the first W in the ballpark. This is the first time I have pitched here, so it was kind of cool for me."

Gausman realizes the significance of beginning his first full pro season at Bowie. "Baltimore is, what, only half an hour away? I am close in that aspect, also," he said. "I am healthy, and the ball is coming out of my hand easy right now. I have bigger expectations on myself than anyone. I think anyone that knows me can tell you that."

"For those who follow the big league team, they had to be impressed for what he did with Buck," Kendall said. "He brings so much to the table."

Gausman has gained some recognition for his ritual of eating doughnuts between innings when he is pitching. A bunch of doughnuts hung from his locker in Spring Training, and one day Baltimore third baseman Manny Machado, a star last year for the Baysox, came and grabbed some doughnuts before a bus trip to a Spring Training road game.

"They were gone pretty fast," Gausman said with a smile.

In brief

A first time for everything: Akron shortstop Ronny Rodriguez, the No. 4 prospect in the Cleveland system, hit his first Double-A homer Friday night at Bowie. The two-run shot came in the second inning, and the Aeros won, 10-7, in 10 innings. Akron scored five runs in the sixth Saturday night, but Bowie scored four in the seventh for a 7-6 win with Dan Duquette, executive vice president of baseball operations for the Orioles, in the stands. Rodriguez hit 19 homers in the Class A Advanced Carolina League last season.

No easy outs: Trenton beat Richmond, 15-1, on Sunday and had 16 hits in its first 32 official at-bats. Richmond needed 167 pitches to get into the seventh inning against the Thunder. "This team, one through nine, can flat-out swing the bat,'' Thunder right fielder Tyler Austin, who had three hits, told nj.com. "Personally, if I was pitching, I would not want to face anyone in our lineup.''

Hard to score: The Harrisburg pitching staff held Altoona scoreless for 20 innings over three games before the Curve scored a run in the bottom of the 10th on Saturday. But it wasn't enough as Harrisburg had scored three times in the top of the frame for a 3-1 win. "Basically what we're doing is expanding the strike zone when we don't have to, especially with men in scoring position," Curve manager Carlos Garcia told the Altoona Mirror. "We've got to understand the situation and stay tough in our approach, understand when the pitcher's in trouble and get pitches over the plate and put a good swing on it." Harrisburg starter Nathan Karns fanned eight in five shutout innings.