Bud Norris starts his Bowie outing with two scoreless innings (Norris out after five)

BOWIE, Md. - Showing a mid 90s fastball and a solid slider, Orioles right-hander Bud Norris started his outing tonight at Double-A Bowie with two scoreless innings against the Erie Seawolves.

Norris retired the side in order on 13 pitches in the top of the first, hitting 95 mph on the Prince George's Stadium radar gun. Shortstop Ozzie Martinez made a very nice play getting the first out on a sprawling catch of a popup in short left field.

Norris hit a batter with one out in the second, but then fanned the next two hitters. He has three strikeouts over two innings on 29 pitches, 21 for strikes.

This is Norris' second rehab outing with an affiliate after he pitched at Triple-A Norfolk on Friday. That outing did not go well. He went 2 2/3 innings allowing 12 hits and nine runs, including two homers, on 72 pitches.

This followed a poor start to his season with the Orioles. Norris is 1-4 with a 9.88 ERA over six O's starts, allowing a .328 batting average against.

His last O's start was May 10 against the Yankees on the road. He went on the DL on May 18, retroactive to May 11, with bronchitis.

Left-handed batters have hit .421 this year against Norris after he held lefties to an average of .255 last season. In that game at Norfolk, left-handed batters went 7-for-9 against Norris with two doubles and two homers.

Norris was optioned here to Bowie at last year's All-Star break to make one tuneup start. It was on July 14 and he pitched against Richmond. He went 4 1/3 innings allowing four hits and three runs.

Bud Norris pitching in the 1st at Bowie. pic.twitter.com/m0IN6nC19L

-- Steve Melewski (@masnSteve) May 27, 2015

Update: Norris pitched a scoreless third, but then Erie scored three against him in the top of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Connor Harrell led off with a single and went to second on a wild pitch. He then moved to third on a groundout. Norris was close to getting out of that inning, but an RBI single, an infield single and a two-run double by Drew Longley followed as Erie took the lead with three runs on four hits in the fourth.

The Baysox had taken a 2-0 lead in the last of the third on Martinez's two-run double to left. It scored Garabez Rosa, who had doubled, and Jason Esposito, who reached on an infield single.

Norris through four: four hits, three runs, no walks, six strikeouts, 74 pitches.

Erie adds one in the fifth: The Seawolves' lead grew to 4-2 against Norris in the fifth. They got a leadoff single from Harold Castro, who stole second and scored on a high-chopper single by Wynton Bernard. After Norris held Erie without a run or hit through three, they got to him for six hits with four coming in the fourth and two in the fifth.

Kenn Kasparek has come on in relief to start the sixth for Bowie.

Norris' final line tonight: 5 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs/ER, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts, 1 hit batter, 1 wild pitch.

Norris threw 92 pitches, 66 for strikes.