J.J. Hardy after Bowie game: "My shoulder is ready"

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

May 06, 2015, 7:08pm

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BOWIE, Md. - After three games and 12 at-bats each with Double-A Bowie for J.J. Hardy and Ryan Flaherty, it appears the next stop for this duo is New York to rejoin the Orioles on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

Hardy can be activated at any time and Flaherty can be activated off the DL on Friday.

Hardy has been on the DL all year with a left shoulder strain. But after tonight's game, speaking outside the Baysox clubhouse, he said he's ready to return to the Orioles.

"My shoulder is ready," he said. "I got what, 12 at-bats in the last six weeks, so timing is going to be something that I've got to deal with. But I either deal with it up there or here, so if (Buck Showalter) wants me to come up, I'm coming up.

"Excited to get back. It's been a long process and taken a lot longer than I hoped, but I feel good. Will be good to get back."

hardy homers orange sidebar.jpg Hardy went 1-for-4 tonight and was 4-for-12 with a double and RBI in three games here.

Did he pass the tests he needed to with Bowie? What did he need to get accomplished?

"Swinging," he said. "Getting fooled and making sure it is not going to get sore after playing in a game and going 100 percent. Make sure it doesn't get worse, and I was able to find this out these last three days. Took some big swings. Pretty much did everything I was a little worried about and it felt fine."

Sometimes players have a mental hurdle to clear when coming back from an injury.

"That is what these three games did for me," Hardy said on that topic.

As to whether he can jump right in and hit major league pitching consistently well, he said he is about to find out.

"The 12 ABs definitely helped. I think there are still going to be some adjustments. There are always adjustments. So we'll see. I could surprise myself or it could take some time. Either way, I think it will be all right," Hardy said.

Flaherty, on the Orioles' DL since April 23 with a right groin strain, also said he is ready to rejoin the team.

"Felt good," he said. "I feel 100 percent. Ready to go. You always want to be in there with the guys and playing. I'm excited for it. I got a couple of groundballs. Got to run the bases a bit. In the field went left and right, so it was good."

Flaherty went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer in the second inning tonight off Akron's Will Roberts.

"It was a changeup. He threw it the pitch before and he threw it again. It was a line drive and I hadn't played here much before, so didn't know if it would go out. Actually, kind of hoped it landed in the yard so I could test out my leg and go for a triple. But still glad it went out," Flaherty, who went 4-for-12 in these three games, said.

"They've got a good group of guys here. Plus a couple of Vanderbilt guys in (Mike) Yastrzemski and (Jason) Esposito so it was good to see those guys. Gary (Kendall) does a good job here."

The mini Vandy reunion was nice for Flaherty. Now comes a bigger one as he and Hardy are about to rejoin the Orioles in New York.

Bowie's walkoff win: For the second time in four days, Bowie won with a walkoff homer tonight. Outfielder Glynn Davis hit a solo shot to left on a 1-0 pitch leading off the last of the 11th as Bowie won 7-6 over Akron. That led to a big celebration at the plate as Bowie won its fifth straight to improve to 16-10. The Baysox are 12-4 their last 16 games. Now the Baysox go for a four-game sweep with a quick turnaround and an 11 a.m. game on Thursday morning when Elih Villanueva (3-2, 2.83 ERA) will pitch.