Hardy and Flaherty on their night in Bowie and return to the Orioles

BOWIE, Md. - Both J.J. Hardy and Ryan Flaherty said they came through their rehab game tonight at Double-A Bowie just fine. They will both likely play here the next two days as they get closer to returning to the Orioles.

Hardy, who has not played in a game since late in spring training, was asked if he could possibly be ready to return as soon as Thursday, after three games with the Baysox.

"It is definitely possible, but I don't think anyone wants to get ahead of ourselves like that," he said. "As of right now, the three games here, we'll see where we are at with the 11 o'clock game here (Thursday). But, yeah, we just don't want to get ahead of ourselves and make it a disappointment if it's not on Thursday. So it's day-by-day still."

Hardy has been out with a strained left shoulder. He went 2-for-4 tonight with a single in the first and RBI double that scored Flaherty in the seventh. Both players exited the game after that inning. Flaherty went 1-for-4 with three groundouts and a double ahead of Hardy's double in the seventh as Bowie beat Akron 8-0. Flaherty batted second and played second base, with Hardy hitting third at shortstop.

Hardy was pleased with his night. He said the moment that provided the best test for his shoulder actually came when he grounded out to third base in the fifth inning.

"My third at-bat was kind of the one I was worried about, getting fooled a bit," Hardy said. "He (Akron's Ryan Merritt) threw a curveball and I had to reach out for it and let go with my top hand and hit that weak grounder to third. But it was all right. That was something I was worried about. So nice to do that and get past that.

"That was a good test today. That and repetition and seeing how it feels tomorrow which I anticipate it being fine. Just kind of moving forward every day."

Now he looks forward to playing with the Baysox for at least the next two nights.

"I think so. Looks like the weather (tomorrow) is going to be all right. We talked to the general manager here and told him we have to get the games in. If it is going to rain, we need to wait around as long as possible and get these in. Hopefully, the weather is on our side," he said.

Flaherty has been on the O's disabled list since April 23 with a strained right groin. His best test came while fielding at second base in the top of the first when the game's first batter hit a grounder up the middle. The ball got deflected by Bowie pitcher Branden Kline and Flaherty had to change directions to make the play and get the out.

"That first grounder was a tester, went right and had to come back left," he said. "It was good. Didn't feel anything. Felt 100 percent. Good to get back out there. You can take all the grounders you want off a fungo. But until you go game speed and move like in a game, it's kind of irrelevant."

Flaherty, who was batting .300 with two homers and four RBIs in nine Orioles game, is eligible to come off the DL on Friday. Can he make it back by that date?

"Yeah, I think so. Felt pretty good tonight. See how it all plays out. I'm just following J.J. around the next couple of days. Whatever he says, I do," he said with a laugh.

After the game, the Baysox ate well tonight as Hardy and Flaherty picked up the spread from a local barbeque restaurant. They may do that again tomorrow for the Bowie players.

Flaherty's night back at Double-A was fun.

"It was pretty cool. I was just playing in Double-A, the year before I got to the Orioles. Always fun to play," he said.

As for the game: Kline pitched a gem to improve to 3-1 and lower his ERA to 3.46. Over seven innings and 103 pitches, he gave up just two singles with four walks and no strikeouts. He has allowed two earned runs or less in four of his five 2015 starts. Ashur Tolliver pitched the final two innings to complete the shutout.

Bowie third baseman Jason Esposito has raised his average 73 points in two days. After a four-hit game Sunday, he had three hits, including a two-run homer, tonight. In these two games, Esposito is 7-for-8 with two doubles, a homer and four RBIs, raising his average from .197 to .270.

David Freitas had a two-run double and Brandon Snyder hit a long solo homer to left-center. Snyder went 2-for-3 and is batting .304 in his first six games with Bowie.

The Baysox won for the sixth time in seven games. They are 10-4 over their past 14 games and now 14-10 for the season. Bowie is 9-1 when scoring four runs or more.

In the second game of this series on Tuesday night at 6:35 p.m., Dylan Bundy (0-2, 3.00 ERA) gets the start for the Baysox.