Orioles Minor League Rundown: 4/14/14

Norfolk 4 Gwinnett (Atlanta) 5

(RHP) Mike Wright made his 2nd start of the season, both coming against this Gwinnett squad. I watched part of the game on MiLB.tv, and Wright seemed to be cruising along early, getting good downward plane and sink on his fastball. A lead off walk in the 3rd and some poor defense from (SS) Alexi Casilla conspired to allow 2 unearned runs in. With 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Casilla ranged to his left on a sharply hit ground ball up the middle, just to the left field side of the 2nd base bag, scooped the ball and then proceeded to spike the throw about 5 feet in front of the 1Bman, who could not handle the hop. Alexi followed up with another throwing error in the 4th. He was also thrown out attempting to steal 2nd. So, not a banner day for him. As for Wright, the BABIP gods were cruel to him in the 4th as he seemed to generate consistently weak contact that managed to find it's way past fielders. Casilla's lack of aim on his throws did Wright no favors either, and he ultimately allowed 2 more runs to score. His final line: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 BBs, 1 HBP, 4 R, 2 ER, 4 Ks. 88 pitches; 56 strikes. 6 groundouts to 3 fly outs.

For the Tides offense, (DH) Brett Wallace put up a 3-4 night. And ( C ) Caleb Joseph continues to make solid contact, hitting his 4th double of the season. (2B) Jemile Weeks and (RF) Henry Urrutia each added doubles of their own.

Bowie 3 Erie (Tigers) 4; Final 7 innings (Wet Grounds)

There was a 3.5 hour delay to even start this game, but (LHP) Eduardo Rodriguez took the hill nonetheless and ended up pitching a Complete Game (abbreviated as it was). 6IP, 6H, 2BB, 4ER, 5Ks. He allowed 1 HR and Balked once. 93 pitches for 66 strikes, with a 6:3 Groundout to Flyout ratio. 
( C ) Michael Ohlman got the start behind the plate and it was another uninspiring day for him there, as he allowed one stolen base and committed a throwing error. He did manage to knock one base hit in 3 trips to the plate. His slash line stands at .256/ .356 / .308 with 6 BBs to 7 Ks so far. The SLG is abysmal at the moment, but that should improve. Otherwise, the bat is looking relatively healthy for his first go-round at Double A as a 23 year old. (1B) Christian Walker managed a 1-3 night as well, with his 1 hit being a triple somehow (he's never struck me as particularly fleet a'foot. But if Matt Wieters can hit a triple I suppose anyone can). (CF) Dariel Alvarez reached base twice, hitting a single and drawing a walk.

Lynchburg (Atlanta) 5 Frederick 4; Final 12 innings

The innings Bowie & Erie failed to complete were made up for by Lynchburg and Frederick. (RHP) Parker Bridwell got the start and looked rather good...for 5 innings, at least, as he put up a line of 5 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 R, 3 Ks. And my heart swooned! Then...the 6th happened. After inducing a ground out by the lead off man the next 5 Hillcats proceeded to reach base; 4 via singles of varying degrees of contact and 1 via a HBP. 3 runs scored, and the damage was mitigated somewhat via an OF Assist from (CF) Glynn Davis, who threw a runner out attempting to advance from 1st to 3rd. Final line for Parker: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 3 ER, 4 Ks. An improvement over his previous two outings, to be certain. But still much work to be done. Keep the faith!

(RHP) Matt Hobgood came on in the 11th and allowed a single, but otherwise put up a clean frame. He returned for the 12th where a couple of one-out singles and a sac fly conspired to produce the winning run. Still a good start to the season for the former 1st round pick. He has pitched 9.2 innings thus far, allowing just 2 ER via 7 H and 3 BBs while K'ing 8.

On offense, (CF) Glynn Davis had a 1-4, w/ a walk and the aforementioned OF Assist. (RF) Brenden Webb had a night after my own heart, going 2-4 w/ a HR, 2 BBs, and a K. He also GIDP'd though. ( C ) Wynston Sawyer continues to be somewhat intriguing, as he had a 3-4 night with a HR and a walk. He did, however, whiff on throwing out both stolen base attempts on the night.

Hagerstown (Nats) 2 Delmarva 9

(RHP) Austin Urban was not sharp again, as he allowed 7 hits and 3 walks over his 4.2 IP, resulting in 2 ER. He also HBP one batter. Righties Dylan Rheault and Jimmy Yacabonis came on to combine for a clean 4.1 IP. (LF) Gregory Lorenzo and (RF) Mike Yastrzemski terrorized from the top of the order, going a combined 4-9, w/ a 2B, a 3B, a SB, 4 RsBI, and 4 runs scored. (CF) Josh Hart added a 3-4 night with his own SB. Hart & Yaz each tallied an OF Assist as well. Don't run on Yaz's arm, denizens of the South Atlantic League. It's just not a good idea.