Orioles minor league rundown 7/31: John Means throws a no-hitter

Norfolk Tides 10, Lehigh Valley (Phillies) 6

Hey, do you remember Jason Berken? Well, he started for the IronPigs in this game and he pitched like you remember from when he started games for the Orioles. The Tides bombed him for five runs on ten hits and after he left the game they just kept scoring. Eight of the nine Norfolk hitters had at least one hit, and even the one who didn't, Rey Navarro, took two walks.

Henry Urrutia and Christian Walker each hit a two-run home run in the game. Walker is up to 11 home runs on the season and has been running hot for a while. He may yet be playing himself back into the picture. One demerit in the game goes to Steve Clevenger. The IronPigs stole five bases off of him and had nobody thrown out. Maybe it was the pitchers' fault.

Bowie Baysox 4, Trenton (Yankees) 2

The Baysox grabbed this win almost entirely on the back of outfielder Quincy Latimore, who had two home runs, including the walkoff two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, as well as a triple. They were his 11th and 12th home runs of the season; the 26-year-old outfielder is rocking an .849 OPS for the Baysox. Pretty good.

Less good were rehabbing Orioles Rule 5 pick Jason Garcia, who coughed up the only Trenton runs in 1.1 innings of work, and Tim Berry, who walked three batters in 1.2 innings of work.

Myrtle Beach (Cubs) 2, Frederick Keys 1

Not much scoring to write home about in this one. Both Pelicans runs scored off of Keys starter Mitch Horacek, though both were unearned due to a pair of errors by third baseman Tanner Witt. So Horacek's line of six innings, four hits, two runs (none earned), two walks, and five strikeouts doesn't look too bad.

Catcher Chance Sisco went 1-4 at the plate, threw out a would-be base-stealer, and also picked off another runner. No one successfully ran on him in the game.

Delmarva Shorebirds 4, Charleston (Yankees) 0 (7 innings)

Shorebirds pitcher John Means no-hit the RiverDogs in the game - only over seven innings, due to there being a scheduled doubleheader, but still, an impressive and cool feat for the Orioles 29th-ranked prospect. Means struck out six and only issued one walk in his seven innings of work, and he had only thrown 78 pitches, so he might well have had a chance to try to take it the full nine if the game had needed to go so long. Congratulations to Means. Definitely an awesome accomplishment.

Delmarva Shorebirds 2, Charleston (Yankees) 0 (7 innings)

Any day the Orioles shut out the Yankees twice would be a great day. Surely, the same is true for their Low-A affiliate. There was not a lot of offense in this second game. The two teams combined for only seven hits. Charleston had only one at-bat with RISP and did nothing with it. Delmarva went 2-8 in those situations, including an RBI double hit by Jomar Reyes. The 18-year-old third baseman has hit safely in all six games since returning from a thumb injury.

On the mound, Tanner Scott, the 2014 6th round pick, made his Delmarva debut to start the game. Scott held Charleston to one hit over three innings of work. He struck out four batters. The hard-throwing lefty was getting use as a multi-inning reliever mostly for Aberdeen.

Staten Island (Yankees) 8, Aberdeen IronBirds 4

Almost a perfect night against Yankees teams, but alas, the IronBirds could not overcome their starter, Travis Seabrooke, giving up five runs in the game.

This was a road game for Aberdeen. A Camden Chat commenter recently noted that a number of Aberdeen hitters are awful at home but hitting well on the road; that includes first rounder D.J. Stewart, 2-4 in this game with a walk. Stewart has a .917 OPS in 12 road games compared to a .382 OPS in 13 home games. It does make you wonder.

Saturday's Schedule

Norfolk: at Lehigh Valley, 6:35. Starter: TBD

Bowie: vs. Trenton, 6:35. (Fireworks!) Starter: Elih Villanueva

Frederick: vs. Myrtle Beach, 6:00. (Fireworks!) Starter: Christopher "I'm Not Saruman" Lee

Delmarva: vs. Charleston, 7:05. (Fireworks!) Starter: Josh Walker

Aberdeen: at Staten Island, 7:05. Starter: TBD

For complete box scores for all of the Orioles affiliates from Friday, including a total beatdown that the GCL Orioles laid down on the Rays affiliate, check out here.