Dylan Bundy on his outing against Texas (plus more clubhouse quotes)

Leave it to Orioles veteran reliever Darren O'Day to perfectly sum up the outing starter Dylan Bundy had tonight. It was a night when the 23-year-old rookie right-hander held the first-place Texas Rangers to one single in seven scoreless innings as the Orioles beat Texas 5-1.

"He was born with a gift to command the baseball," O'Day said. "It was fun to watch. Talked about it before, the first bullpen I saw him throw in 2012, it was amazing for such a young kid to have that kind of command.

"He's healthy again. And he is showing why he was such a high pick. He's got a great mentality. We enjoyed the time we had with him in the bullpen, but I think he's moved onto better things."

In his fourth major league start, Bundy had at times tonight electric stuff it seemed as he shut down a Rangers team that ranks fourth in the AL in runs scored.

Bundy retired the first 10 batters he faced tonight before he gave up a walk to Ian Desmond. For the second game in a row, he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Elvis Andrus hit a line drive to center with two outs for a single and the only Texas hit in 21 at-bats against Bundy.

What was the key to Bundy's outing?

"I think just keeping the ball in on some of the lefties they had in that lineup, also mixing it up the whole game," he said. "Not trying to get into a pattern. Just to get six (innings), I was pleased with that and went out for the seventh and just had to focus a little more and locate a little better."

A reporter asked Bundy if there was a point he thought he might be having a special night.

"I don't really think about that," Bundy answered. "All I try to do is hit the glove and throw what Wheaty (Matt Wieters) calls down and just try to locate as best I can and get outs. Been good to just get deeper into games and get my arm built up to be able to do that every five days. Pitches, you know, still haven't gone above 90 yet. I still have to go above 90 pitches sometimes, so see how it goes."

Bundy got a couple of big ovations tonight, one when the no-hitter ended and one when he retired the side and walked off after the top of the seventh.

"People screaming, yeah, it was fun. We've got great fans here and they support us and what we do here," Bundy said.

There was a funny moment in his postgame interview when he was asked if he was thinking about a no-hitter.

"No, I gave up a hit."

The reporter let Bundy know he meant was he thinking about a no-hitter before he gave up his only hit.

"No, not really," Bundy said. "You just try to get outs as quick as you can. So if you can get soft contact early and keep your pitch count down, that helps."

Did he like pitching in weather tonight that was a bit cooler than his last start?

"It was still hot. I was still changing jerseys every inning. So I'm not really sure about that," he said.

As for how his arm feels, he said: "It's great. See how it feels tomorrow and just do my work like I do in between every start and get ready for the next one."

Bundy retired 20 of 22 batters faced tonight. He is now 2-2 with an ERA of 3.00, a .173 batting average against and 24 strikeouts in 21 innings as a starter. Over his last 10 games, he has pitched to an ERA of 1.78 with nine walks and 43 strikeouts over 35 1/3 innings.

Other clubhouse quotes:

Wieters on Bundy's outing: "It was fun to catch. When he is able to have all three of his pitches and locate his fastball like he did tonight, it gives me a lot of options to call. On top of that, for a young guy, he knows what he is doing. It is nice getting to work with a guy who has a game plan going on and is going to execute it."

Wieters on Bundy becoming the pitcher you all thought he would: "Yeah, after catching him that first spring, you knew the stuff was there. He's had to go down a tough road and from talking to him, it's made him a lot stronger mentally. I think that is what has helped him to have success this early. The good thing about Dylan, he's not going to take anything for granted. He is going to keep working and keep improving."

Wieters on Bundy's progress as a starter: "He thinks through his outing. He'll come in tomorrow and critique his outing. It is nice to see a kid that young that knows it's not a given. He is going to have to work for it and he's going to do that."

Wieters on his homer in the seventh: "It was nice to get a barrel on a ball, especially right-handed. Just haven't been able really to get in a groove right-handed, so nice to be able to put a good swing on a ball."

O'Day on his bases-loaded strikeout of Desmond in the eighth: "When Ian was with the Nationals, it seemed like whenever I faced him, it was a tight game, a big game. He's a good hitter, man. I enjoy watching him play. That at-bat there, it's bases loaded, it's kind of the game. I just kind of stuck with my strengths and Wheaty was on the same page with me back there. He fouled off some good pitches before the last one that he happened to swing through. I finally got the pitch down where I wanted it and was lucky enough to get a swing through."

O'Day on a big win and the stretch run being here now: "Yeah, we're a good team and we're going to be in a lot of close games. It's kind of been like that since I've been here. It's exciting baseball, fun to watch."