Luis Pujols and Kennie Steenstra on Dylan Bundy (Bundy with 4 1/3 scoreless in Frederick)

FREDERICK, Md. - He had three very strong starts for short-season Single-A Aberdeen, but since he moved to Single-A Frederick, right-hander Dylan Bundy has not pitched as well. bundy throwing spring sidebar.jpgTonight, the Frederick fans get their first in-person look at Bundy. He has made five starts for the Keys, all on the road, but he takes the mound here tonight against Carolina. Bundy went 0-1 with an 0.60 ERA in three Aberdeen starts. In five Frederick starts, he is 1-2 with a 5.73 ERA. Over 22 innings with the Keys, he has allowed 23 hits and 14 runs with 13 walks and eight strikeouts. Bundy walked a career-high five batters in his last start. Four runs charged to Bundy's record have scored after he came out of games. We probably need to keep in mind that he is just about 13 months removed from Tommy John surgery. Keys manager Luis Pujols thinks Bundy is doing just fine when you consider that fact. "He's throwing the ball well," Pujols said. "He'll have some ups and downs after Tommy John. But when I talk to him, my first question is always, 'Are you healthy?' I think that should be the goal every time he pitches. He throws his 70-75 pitches and comes out healthy, he's moving in the right direction. He's been healthy, no complaints." Bundy has an ERA of 9.26 after his first three Keys starts but has allowed just two earned runs over 10 1/3 innings in his last two. "I think sometimes he is a little hard on himself," Pujols said. "He expects even more. His fastball is there and he's going to have to have patience. The command is going to come back. "I had never seen him pitch before. But the last two starts, he was better than the first three. I can see he's moving forward. He just has to be patient. He's not too far away." Frederick pitching coach Kennie Steenstra was Bundy's pitching coach with Double-A Bowie in 2012. He sized up how Bundy's individual pitches look right now. "The fastball has been pretty steady, 90 to 94, sitting 92," Steenstra said. "To me, the biggest difference is the curveball hasn't been quite as sharp as what I saw a couple of years ago. Think that is going to be the last one to come around. "The changeup is better than what I remember when I saw him in Bowie in 2012. That is one thing that has shown improvement and it was a pitch he worked on a lot that year." Bundy will be limited to 75 pitches here tonight as he is in all his starts this year. He is facing the Carolina Mudcats who lead the Carolina League with a .267 batting average. Check back here during tonight's game for updates from Frederick. A strong start: Bundy has blanked Carolina on one hit and 24 pitches over the first two innings. Bundy pitched a scoreless first on 13 pitches. He got back-to-back groundouts to start his outing before he gave up a two-out single and got a third groundout to end the inning. He struck out the side on just 11 pitches in the second inning. He got the first two batters swinging and the third looking. He threw a nice curveball for the second strikeout. The stadium radar gun has been recording his fastball at 88 and 89 mph. According to the press box crew here, the gun is about three or four miles per hour slow. So, no need to be concerned about the velocity tonight. Bundy with a shutout through four: Bundy kept Carolina off the board in the third and fourth. He gave up a one-out double in the third and a leadoff single in the fourth. But, in the fourth, he struck out the next three batters after the single. He is having a strong outing and I've heard he is touching 93 and 94 on his fastball despite the fact that we are seeing some lower readings on the scoreboard. Bundy through four: 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts The Keys gave Bundy a 4-0 lead in the last of the third on a two-run single by Adrian Marin, an RBI single by Chih-Hsien Chiang and Jason Esposito's sac fly. Bundy now out of game: With an assist from Matt Hobgood, Bundy threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings here tonight. In the top of the fifth he gave up a double, infield single and flyout and then left the game as his pitch count reached its limit. Hobgood came on and got the next two outs to keep Carolina off the board and Bundy with a zero in the run column. Bundy threw 73 pitches, 51 for strikes. His final line: 4 1/3 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts Bundy had a nice outing here tonight, touching 93 and 94, and I heard that one pitch registered 96 on the gun. He made progress tonight. He has pitched to an ERA of just 1.23 over his last three starts, allowing two earned runs in 14 2/3 innings.



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