Hill

Shawn Hill kept his scoreless streak alive again on Wednesday night.

The York Revolution right-hander held Southern Maryland to no runs on four hits in six innings. He extended his scoreless innings streak to 272/3 innings, setting a new club record by passing Corey Thurman's previous record of 24 innings set over four starts back in June 2008.

The effort helped the Revs win the series against the Blue Crabs by taking Game 3, 10-0.

However, the former major leaguer said he doesn't have his best stuff yet, which is quite impressive considering he threw 61 of his 101 pitches for strikes while walking just two and striking out six.

"This start I wasn't happy. But it's that little fix away from being right back to where I was in Long Island with that start," said Hill, referring to the 61/3 shutout innings he tossed against Long Island on June 2. "I know the fixes. It's kind of building one start at a time and figuring out what I need to do and figuring out my in-between routine."

With a couple scouts in the crowd of 2,742 fans at Sovereign Bank Stadium, Hill threw first-pitch strikes to 12 of the 25 batters he faced. In his five starts, he has thrown first-pitch strikes to 69 of 104 batters (66.3 percent).

Just four months removed from surgery that took a rib out near his neck to correct a blood circulation issue in his throwing arm, Hill (2-0) admitted it has played a role in his dominance on the mound.

"I'm basically getting used to it because for four years it (the elbow) was locked because of the nerve being pinched," he said. "The shoulder I've had zero issues with. The elbow now finally feels free."

The win caps off a nine-game home-stand for York (22-24), which went 5-4 during the stretch. The Revs also faced Southern Maryland (23-23) for the last time in the first half of the season, evening the head-to-head match-up at 5-5.

York moved to within 51/2 games of the Lancaster Barnstormers (28-18) for first place in the Atlantic League Freedom Division. Lancaster split a double-header with Sugar Land (19-27) on Wednesday.

Runs: Outfielder Michael Hernandez hit a two-run homer to right field in the third inning off of Blue Crabs' starter Dan Reichert (3-2) to put the Revs up 4-0.

York broke the game open in the seventh, scoring six runs on three hits and four walks, capped off by a bases-clearing three-run double from Ramon Castro.

The Revs collected 14 hits and improved to 5-1 in games where they put up double-digit runs.

Relievers Omar Javier, Adam Thomas and Kris Regas combined to keep the shutout intact by keeping Southern Maryland scoreless in the final three innings.

Former O's starter joins York: The Revs signed former Baltimore Orioles starter Chris Waters on Wednesday.

The veteran left-hander is just 16 months removed from Tommy John surgery to his throwing elbow. Waters, 31, made 12 starts and four relief appearances for Baltimore over the 2008 and 2009 seasons, combining for a 5.07 ERA.

Kielty retires: Revs' manager Andy Etchebarren said outfielder Bobby Kielty has retired after playing just 19 games for York.

Kielty, 35, was trying to make it back to the big leagues, where he last played in 2007 with the Boston Red Sox. He retires with 599 major league games under his belt. He played with four different big league clubs from 2001 to 2007. He hit just .221 with three homers and eight RBIs for York.

Next game: The Revs hit the road on Thursday to face Somerset (22-24) in a four-game series, before returning on Monday for a four-game series with Sugar Land.

York right-hander Corey Thurman (4-1, 4.91 ERA) will face left-hander Doug Argüelles (3-1, 3.12) on Thursday.

-- Reach John Walk at jwalk@yorkdispatch.com.