Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy made the first start of his major league career July 17, and it wasn't exactly a smashing success.
Bundy was tagged for four runs and five hits -- including three home runs -- against the Tampa Bay Rays, walking three batters and striking out four in 3.1 innings. The four runs he allowed tied his season high, leading to a 5-2 O's loss.
Bundy's cleanest inning was the first, though he didn't escape it unscathed. He began his afternoon by blowing away Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe on a strikeout -- routinely pumping his fastball at 97 mph -- and then induced a grounder from shortstop Brad Miller. But third baseman Evan Longoria jumped on a fastball in the middle of the plate and tattooed it into the left-field seats for a home run, the first earned run allowed by Bundy since June 4. Still, Bundy threw just 10 pitches in the first inning.
The rest of the day, however, was a struggle. The Rays worked Bundy for 25 pitches in the second, which included a two-run homer by outfielder Oswaldo Arcia, who flicked a Bundy fastball the opposite way and carried it over the fence. Miller then opened the third inning with another opposite-field homer. It was the third blast in as many innings against Bundy, who had allowed just three home runs all season entering the game.
