Bowie beats Altoona 7-0 tonight in EL playoffs (Norfolk game suspended)

The Double-A Bowie Baysox bounced back from last night's tough loss to win 7-0 tonight at Altoona. The win evens their Eastern League playoff series at one victory each in the best-of-five series.

It was an important win for Bowie to not fall behind 0-2 in the series and also to rebound from last night when the Baysox led 7-0 in the second inning, but lost 8-7.

Baysox outfielder Mike Yastrzemski's solo homer in the first inning gave Bowie the lead. In the fifth, the lead grew to 3-0 on an Ozzie Martinez RBI single and Yastrzemski's sac fly. Quincy Latimore's RBI single in the eighth provided Bowie the 4-0 lead. The Baysox added three runs in the ninth on Corban Joseph's single and Trey Mancini's two-run single.

Joseph went 3-for-5 while Drew Dosch and Martinez added two hits each for Bowie. The Baysox had 11 hits and went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Baysox starter, left-hander Nick Additon, pitched a big game to get the win. Over six scoreless innings, Additon allowed six hits with one walk and four strikeouts. He threw 92 pitches, 61 for strikes. Altoona put two on with none out down 3-0 in the seventh and Bowie turned to lefty reliever Donnie Hart. He got a double play ball and groundout to pitch out of that jam.

Now the series shifts to Bowie's Prince George's Stadium for Game 3 at 7:05 p.m. Friday night. Bowie will host Game 4 Saturday and Game 5 on Sunday if needed.

The starting pitchers for Friday are scheduled to be left-hander Chris Lee for Bowie (4-2, 3.08 ERA) and left-hander Steven Brault (9-3, 2.00) for Altoona. Brault was drafted by the Orioles in round 11 of 2013, but was part of the trade last winter to Pittsburgh for outfielder Travis Snider. Brault is 8-0 with an ERA of 0.95 over his 10 starts for the Curve.

At Triple-A Norfolk's Harbor Park tonight, the game between the Tides and Columbus has been suspended by heavy rain with a 0-0 score after 1 1/2 innings in the International League playoffs. It will resume Friday at 4:05 p.m. Norfolk needs a win to even this best-of-five series at 1-1. Tides lefty Chris Jones walked four in the first two innings before the rains hit, but pitched out of those jams to keep the Clippers scoreless.

Game 2 will be completed Friday at Harbor Park, while the series will shift to Columbus for Games 3-5 (if necessary) from Saturday through Monday. Fans with tickets to Thursday night's game can use those same tickets for Friday afternoon's contest. Tickets can be purchased online at NorfolkTides.com or in person at the Harbor Park box office.