masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgABERDEEN, Md. – Steve Johnson will pitch tonight at Ripken Stadium as part of a rehab assignment with the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds.

Jonathan Schoop will bat third and play second base for Aberdeen in his second game with the IronBirds. Schoop went 2-for-4 here last night with two singles.

Johnson is working his way back from a strained left oblique; he went on the Orioles’ disabled list June 6. He made one start last Saturday in the Gulf Coast League, pitching two shutout…ABERDEEN, Md. – Steve Johnson will pitch tonight at Ripken Stadium as part of a rehab assignment with the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds.

Jonathan Schoop will bat third and play second base for Aberdeen in his second game with the IronBirds. Schoop went 2-for-4 here last night with two singles.

Johnson is working his way back from a strained left oblique; he went on the Orioles’ disabled list June 6. He made one start last Saturday in the Gulf Coast League, pitching two shutout and hitless innings with three strikeouts. He has spent time this year with the Orioles and Triple-A Norfolk.

Schoop, who has been out with a stress fracture in his lower back, returned recently and played eight games in the Gulf Coast League before joining the IronBirds. In those games, he hit .360 with three homers, nine RBIs and a 1.269 OPS.

Schoop, the O’s third-rated prospect by Baseball America, hit .268 in 34 games earlier this season with Triple-A Norfolk before his injury. His last game with the Tides was May 12.

Aberdeen is trying to make the New York-Penn League playoffs for the first time ever. The IronBirds, whose first season was in 2002, are currently 17-16, and they are 2 1/2 games out of first place and two games back in the wild card race.

The team features 15 players from the O’s 2013 draft class. Eight of these players are on the pitching staff that sports a 3.20 team ERA, which ranks first among all O’s farm teams.

Check back later for update from Aberdeen, and I’ll have some Twitter updates also tonight from Ripken Stadium.

Tonight’s Aberdeen lineup:
SS Jared Breen
DH Sam Kimmel
2B Jonathan Schoop
1B Trey Mancini
LF Mike Yastrzemski
3B Hector Veloz
CF George Barber
RF Manny Hernandez
C Austin Wynns

RHP Steve Johnson