Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 4, Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) 0
The Tides threw their third shutout of the season, and while I’d love to say that a prominent pitching prospect was involved, that wasn’t the case. Instead, it was a combined six-pitcher effort, none of whom worked more than three innings. Tucker Davidson got it started with three scoreless, newcomer Corbin Martin tossed the fourth in his organizational debut, lefty Luis González struck out four in two innings, and Dillon Tate, Matt Krook, and Wandisson Charles worked a scoreless inning apiece. The IronPigs had 10 baserunners, so it’s not as if they didn’t have their chances to score, but they went 0-for-9 with men in scoring position.
The Norfolk offense put up a decent showing against right-hander Mick Abel, the Phillies’ #3 prospect. They had five hits and drew five walks against Abel, though they got only three runs out of all those baserunners, going 2-for-14 with RISP. Billy Cook drove in two runs with a pair of RBI doubles. Connor Norby had a nice night, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, while Jackson Holliday and Heston Kjerstad were a combined 0-for-7, though Holliday walked and Kjerstad contributed a sac fly.
Double-A: Bowie Baysox 3, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets) 2
Back-to-back home runs by Frederick Bencosme and Dylan Beavers, the fourth of the year for each, snapped a one-all tie in the eighth and led the Baysox to a late win. Bencosme didn’t even start the game, but entered as a defensive replacement after third baseman Max Wagner was struck in the face by a ground ball. Ouch. Hope Max is OK. Beavers, with a 2-for-4 performance, is batting .302 with an .887 OPS. Samuel Basallo, playing first base and batting leadoff, had a pair of singles.
Starter Seth Johnson went four innings for the third time this season and didn’t allow an earned run, though he gave up an unearned one after a Bencosme throwing error in the fourth. The most impressive pitching performance came from long reliever Carlos Tavera, who worked four scoreless innings and struck out six, permitting only two baserunners. Dylan Heid managed to nail down the save in the ninth despite allowing two hits, a walk, and a wild pitch.
High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 6, Aberdeen IronBirds 3
The IronBirds were the only O’s affiliate not to win a game on this day, blowing a late 4-2 lead by giving up four runs in the seventh. It was a pretty unusual rally for Wilmington. Aberdeen reliever Preston Johnson easily got the first two outs of the inning and then struck out the next guy...except that strike three was a wild pitch and allowed the runner to reach. Instead of being out of the inning, Johnson walked the next two hitters, then gave up a two-run single and a two-run double. Rough way to lose.
Enrique Bradfield Jr., the Orioles’ first-round draft pick last year, was a spark plug in the leadoff hole, going 3-for-4 and finishing a homer shy of the cycle. He also stole his 18th base. The professionally beefy Creed Willems clubbed his ninth home run.
Low-A: Lynchburg Hillcats (Guardians) 4, Delmarva Shorebirds 0 (Game 1)
There’s not much to say about this one. The Shorebirds managed a grand total of one baserunner in seven innings in the opener of their doubleheader. That came on an Aneudis Mordán single to lead off the second inning. Delmarva’s other 20 at-bats resulted in outs (including a double play that erased Mordán).
Starter Riley Cooper pitched pretty well, giving up just one run in five innings, but it was a tough day for reliever Alejandro Méndez. Not only did he give up three runs in one inning, but he also committed two throwing errors on pickoffs.
Delmarva 1, Lynchburg 0 (Game 2)
The nightcap was another low-scoring affair, but this time the Shorebirds squeaked out one run and it proved to be enough. They broke a scoreless tie in the sixth when Aron Estrada walked, advanced to third on two straight wild pitches, and scored on an Anderson De Los Santos sac fly. The Shorebirds continued to run wild on the bases as usual, going 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts.
Right-hander Braxton Bragg had an outing he could Bragg about, pitching four scoreless innings, fanning five and walking none. Jiorgeny Casimiri followed with two shutout frames, and Grabiel Salazar survived the ninth after walking the bases loaded.
Saturday’s scheduled games:
Norfolk: vs. Lehigh Valley, 6:35 PM. Starter: Cade Povich (4-1, 2.16)
Bowie: at Binghamton, 1:05 PM. Starter: Alex Pham (1-1, 5.83)
Aberdeen: at Wilmington, 6:05 PM. Starter: TBD
Delmarva: at Lynchburg, 6:30 PM. Starter: Jacob Cravey (0-2, 4.15)
