Mike Wright talks about his near no-hitter (Aberdeen awarded 2015 All-Star Game)

For Triple-A Norfolk pitcher Mike Wright, this year started slow but sure is finishing strong. That strong finish put him on the verge of history last night when he lost a no-hitter with two outs in the last of the ninth at Durham. Wright went a career-high 8 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and two unearned runs with three walks and a career-high 11 strikeouts as the Tides won 5-2. He threw 121 pitches, 78 for strikes. "Honestly, I had pretty much everything working tonight," Wright said by phone last night from Durham. "My slider, I wasn't really throwing it for strikes very much, but my changeup was good. When I needed my slider to be there, it was. So everything all night was pretty good. "It was definitely a fantastic outing. My career-high before today was 7 2/3, so to go into the ninth was big because that's the kind of pitcher I want to be. It was a really good experience and great to have this outing to finish this last stretch of the season." A 24-year-old right-hander, Wright was trying to become the third pitcher to throw a nine-inning, no-hitter in Norfolk franchise history. Dave Telgheder did that against Pawtucket on May 15, 1992 and Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman pitched a no-hitter at Gwinnett on April 28, 2010. The Tides have had four seven-inning no-hitters in franchise history, most recently by Steve Trachsel in a rehab outing on May 29, 2001 against Ottawa. Wright took the mound in the last of the ninth with Norfolk leading 5-0 and walked Hak-Ju Lee before getting the next two batters out. Then Cole Figueroa hit a grounder to short that could've ended the game, but Alexi Casilla's throw was off the mark for an error that left runners on first and second. Wright said Casilla said he was sorry for making that error. "He felt awful, but that is a tough play," Wright said. "He was playing far back. You don't want to give up the ground ball in the hole. The guy just kind of check-swung and didn't hit it well, but Alexi was giving it his all, busting it with 100 percent effort." Mikie Mahtook, who is batting .295, then lined an RBI double off the right-field wall to end the no-hit and shutout bid. It also ended Wright's outing as Brock Huntzinger came on. For Wright, there was no second-guessing the 1-2 pitch that ended his no-hit bid. "He hit the exact pitch I wanted to throw," Wright said. "I struck him out the at-bat before with a low-and-away changeup. All night he hadn't been biting on the slider. Me and Clevy (catcher Steve Clevenger) were on the same page. He called fastball up and I threw it there and he is a fantastic hitter and put a good swing on it. If I could go back, I would throw the exact same pitch in the same spot." Wright said the most pitches he had thrown as a pro before last night was around 110. He said the game featured several good defensive plays behind him as Casilla, first baseman Christian Walker and center fielder Julio Borbon all made good plays. Wright had taken a no-hitter into the fifth in his previous start and said he began to think about pitching one last night in the sixth. "When I really felt the pressure was in that ninth inning," he said. "I knew my pitch count was a little higher. Knew I only had to get three outs and I would say I felt the pressure pretty good there in the ninth inning." Rated the O's No. 8 prospect last winter by Baseball America, Wright is 5-11 with a 4.83 ERA in 25 starts over 136 innings for Norfolk. He was 1-8 with an ERA of 6.15 at the All-Star break. But he is 4-2 with an ERA of 1.11 over his last six starts. In his last 40 2/3 innings, he has walked five and fanned 30. Wright has not allowed an earned run over his past two starts. He has given up just one earned run in 23 innings, for an ERA of 0.39 over his last three starts. "I've just been trying to relax," he said of his recent run of solid starts. "Even tonight, as the game pressed on, the more intense and the better I wanted to do, I had to make myself relax and pitch the way I can. That was one of the things at the beginning of the year where I didn't do too well. I wanted to do so well, so badly. Now I am just letting the game come to me." Wright won the Jim Palmer Award in 2013 as the O's Pitcher of the Year in the minor leagues. He went 11-3 with a 3.26 ERA at Double-A Bowie before he pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings for Norfolk in his Triple-A debut to end his year. Wright's big finish to this season is important for him, as he must be protected by the Orioles for the first time in advance of the December Rule 5 draft. He needs to be added to the 40-man roster, and he likely will be, to avoid being eligible for that draft. Aberdeen to host All-Star game: In addition to Wright's big night, the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds announced Thursday night that they will be hosting the 2015 New-York Penn League Al-Star Game. The exact date has not been announced. This will be the second time Ripken Stadium has hosted the game. In 2006, the game drew over 6,900 fans in Aberdeen. "The Aberdeen IronBirds and Ripken Baseball are thrilled to have the best and brightest in the New York-Penn League come to Ripken Stadium next summer and play baseball the Ripken Way," said IronBirds general manager Joe Harrington. Additional events and activities surrounding the 2015 NYPL All-Star Game will be announced in the coming months and will be available through the IronBirds' official website, www.ironbirdsbaseball.com. Photo courtesy of Christopher McCain