Minor League Roundup for 29 April 2009

On days when the O's stink it up, I always look to the minors for some inspiration.

Gwinnett Braves 8, Norfolk Tides 6

Rich Hill took the mound for the Tides for his second rehab start. He was on a pitch count, and made it through 3.1 innings on 63 pitches. He allowed 2 ER on just 1 hit (a HR), walking 1 and striking out 5 (4 looking).

Following Hill was Ross Wolf who didn't have a great outing. In 2.2 innings, Wolf gave up 4 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. Andy Mitchell and Jim Miller each gave up 1 run to finish the game.

Wieters Watch! In 5 plate appearances Matt had a single, a walk, and two strikeouts. The offensive standouts were Justin Christian who went 3-5 with a home run and Oscar Salazar who also had three hits.

Bowie Baysox 6, Erie Seawolves 1

Hard luck pitcher Brandon Erbe finally got his first win of the year, pitching six innings of shut out ball, allowing 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3. He's now 1-3 on the year with a sparkling 0.90 ERA  and a 0.95 WHIP (2 ER, 8 BB, 11 H in 20 IP).

2B Miguel Abreu had a banner day going 5-5 with a double and scored 2 runs. Catcher Adam Donachie also had a good day, 3-3 with a walk, an RBI and 2 runs. Brandon Snyder was given the day off.

Winston-Salem Dash 9, Frederick Keys 4

First of all, what kind of name is Dash? I mean, Keys isn't the greatest name ever, but Dash? That's just silly.

John Mariotti got the start for Frederick and took the loss, pitching 5 innings and allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. He actually had the best day of all three Keys pitchers, as Chris Salburg allowed 3 runs in 2 innings and Jake Stevens gave up 2 runs in 1 inning.

There were no real offensive standouts in the game. LF Kraig Binick hit his 4th HR of the year. Brandon Waring, who came to the Orioles system in the Ramon Hernandez trade, was the only player with multiple hits, including 1 double. Former first round pick and current Keys right fielder Billy Rowell was 1-3 with 2 Ks.

Delmarva Shorebirds 8, Lakewood Blue Claws 1

Cole McMurry pitched another good game, going 5.2 innings, allowing 6 hits but 0 walks. He didn't allow more than one baserunner in any inning until the 6th when he started to fall apart. The run scored on a leadoff triple and a sac fly. McMurray has now allowed 3 ER and 4 BB in 21.2 innings, good for a 1.25 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He was taken by the O's in the 47th round of the 2007 draft so he probaby doesn't have a very high ceiling, but it's nice to see the kid do well.

RF Ronnie Wilty had a big day, going 4-4 with a 2B, a BB, a SB, 2 R, and 4 RBI. The 2008 draft class also had a pretty good day as 2nd round pick Xavier Avery was 3-5 with 1 R and 1 SB, 3rd round pick LJ Hoes was 2-5 with 2 R, and 5th round pick Greg Miclat went 2-5 with a double.