Prospect encouraged by pitching gem

After stumbling out of the gate for the 51s in his first Triple-A season, Los Angeles Dodgers pitching prospect Justin Orenduff finally found the groove in his last start at Round Rock.

The 6-foot-4-inch, 205-pound right-hander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, when he allowed a leadoff triple but struck out the side before leaving Las Vegas' 3-0 win Sunday.

Orenduff, 1-0 with a 4.18 ERA this year, allowed only one hit in seven scoreless innings, walked two and struck out eight in his sixth start of the season.

"I saw a step in the right direction," 51s manager Lorenzo Bundy said. "He was more aggressive, and he pounded the strike zone early. He struck out three at a time when we needed him to be as dirty as he could be.

"We've seen progress, and hopefully he'll be able to carry that into his start (tonight)."

Orenduff, a supplemental first-round selection by the Dodgers and the 33rd overall pick in 2004, will start for the 51s (17-17) at 7:05 tonight at Cashman Field against the Memphis Redbirds (16-19).

"Justin is one of those guys where once he learns to trust his stuff, he's going to have a lot more success," Bundy said. "He's got the capabilities of being a pretty decent groundball pitcher, and his slider allows him to punch out guys now and then."

Orenduff entered this season with a stellar strikeout-to-walk ratio -- fanning 370 and walking 139 in 329 2/3 career innings -- but he has struggled with his command this year, striking out 24 and walking 21 in 28 innings.

"(This season) hasn't started the way I wanted it to start. I wasn't pitching that poorly, but I've had a lot of walks and I've been pitching from behind a lot," said Orenduff, who will turn 25 on May 27. "I had a great outing in Round Rock and I'm trying to build off that one and be more consistent."

• NOTES -- 51s reliever Yhency Brazoban was promoted to Los Angeles, catcher A.J. Ellis was optioned from Las Vegas to Class-A Ogden, and catcher Kelley Gulledge and infielder Rex Rundgren were promoted from Ogden to Las Vegas.