Minor leaguer fans 12 in a row, 15 in five innings

ABERDEEN, Md. — Luis Ramirez set a minor league record by striking out 12 straight batters, and didn’t get a win to show for it.

Ramirez, a right-hander in the Baltimore Orioles’ organization, had 15 strikeouts in five innings for the Class A Aberdeen IronBirds on Wednesday night. Working on a pitch count, he was removed after the fifth inning of Aberdeen’s 6-3 loss to the Jamestown Jammers.

The major league record for consecutive strikeouts is 10, set by Tom Seaver of the New York Mets on April 22, 1970.

Ramirez began by inducing a groundout to short. He then struck out the next two batters to end the inning.

Ramirez struck out four in the second — the result of a dropped third strike and an error by the Aberdeen first baseman. He struck out the side in order in the third and fourth innings.

A leadoff double in the fifth ended the streak, but Ramirez recovered to strike out the next three batters. He was then lifted after 76 pitches — 58 for strikes — because the IronBirds were limiting him to 78 pitches.

Aberdeen led 3-0 when Ramirez was removed.