• Find team by: Affiliation | Class | Geography
     
04/16/2009 11:06 PM ET
Patton in control, extends shutout streak
Orioles prospect hurls six scoreless frames for Bowie
By Danny Wild / MLB.com
Troy Patton missed all of 2008 after undergoing surgery for a torn left labrum. (Joy R. Absalon/MiLB.com)

ADVERTISEMENT
• Box score
• Troy Patton's player page

Troy Patton will be sore tomorrow, but it'll be a good burn.

Patton extended his scoreless streak to 11 innings with six more dominant frames Thursday in leading Bowie past Akron, 2-0.

Patton (2-0), one of the O's top prospects, struck out six and allowed just three hits in his second start for the Baysox. He did not walk a batter.

"I had a really good changeup," said Patton. "I had a lot of deep counts that I would get behind in, and the change helped me out a lot."

The 23-year-old's effort comes five days after he hurled five shutout frames in his debut against Akron. He struck out three and held the Aeros to three hits in that game as well.

The Texas native, once rated the No. 2 prospect in the Astros system, was dealt to Baltimore in the 2007 trade that sent Miguel Tejada to Houston. Patton arrived at Orioles camp last March with a sore shoulder and shut things down when a painful side session revealed a torn labrum.

He opted for left shoulder surgery and went on the 60-day disabled list, roughly a year before the Orioles finally got to see their prized arm take the mound in Spring Training last month.

"I'm basically just working on everything, trying to polish up everything I had when I was at my best," Patton said. "So basically the game plan is to go at them with whatever works, and I'm getting better every time out."

Patton, who experienced left bicep tendinitis during his Astros days, finally looks healthy and in control with Bowie. He's one of many up-and-coming Orioles pitching prospects who have looked sharp this season -- Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta, Brad Bergesen, David Hernandez and 2008 first-round pick Brian Matusz are all on the O's radar.

"I'm going to be pretty sore tomorrow. I think I threw about 90 pitches, which is more than I've done since 2007," said Patton. "I'll be sore, but it's good. It's part of the process."

The Orioles also have a decent catcher en route to the Majors, Matt Wieters, who slugged his first home run of the season for Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday. Baltimore fans hope a Patton-to-Wieters combo will arrive sooner than later.

"I haven't set any goals as far as moving up -- that's out of my control," he said. "But I've set some personal goals. The biggest one is I want to throw somewhere between 170-200 innings this year, which would be a whole lot coming off an injury. But I feel like I'm capable of doing it."

Patton, pain-free after a rough year of rehab, is hopeful of becoming an anchor for the Orioles rotation someday.

"I want to pitch deep into games and give the team a chance," he said. "I felt really good [tonight]. I got ahead of a lot of guys, and so good things happened."

Patton allowed a two-out single to Josh Rodriguez in the third, a leadoff double to Beau Mills in the fourth and another single to Rodriguez in the sixth. He erased the runner with a double play and got Mills to bounce back to the mound to end the sixth and his afternoon.

"I walked three batters last time, so I was more aggressive today, even when I got behind," said Patton. "I'm basically making them swing the bat."

Bowie gave Patton a lead in the fourth when Brandon Snyder lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Paco Figueroa with one out. Melvin Dorta scored the second run on reliever Neil Wagner's wild pitch in the eighth.

Patton threw two no-hitters and a perfect game in high school before Houston selected him in the ninth round of the 2004 Draft. Now with the Orioles, he's looking toward making progress with his new team.

"I feel very comfortable. I had a year with negative progress, so it's real nice getting to know the coaching staffs and trainers," Patton said. "It's nice to get comfortable now."

Danny Wild is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.