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Norfolk Tides 3, Louisville (Reds) 2
If you only get six hits, you better make the most of them. That was the Tides on Friday, and they did manage to make the most of them, with the decisive third run scoring when Rey Navarro hit his fifth Norfolk home run of the season. Navarro had three of Norfolk's six hits. That came in the seventh inning. The Tides pitching staff was able to keep the Bats off the board the rest of the way.
Norfolk was put in a position where they could come back late thanks to a deep start by the recently-promoted Terry Doyle, who scattered seven hits and two walks over seven innings of work. Doyle gave up two runs and struck out one batter. From there, Richard Rodriguez and Oliver Drake each added a scoreless inning to close out the game. The save was Drake's 21st; he has a 0.71 ERA at the Triple-A level.
Harrisburg (Walgreens) 2, Bowie Baysox 0
The Baysox only got one hit in the whole game. Dag, yo.
That's the kind of thing that's going to happen when you run into the #3 prospect in all of baseball, though. That's Harrisburg's Lucas Giolito, the 16th overall pick from the 2012 draft. Giolito plowed through the Baysox lineup, notching 11 strikeouts in seven innings of work. He gave up only one hit and one walk.
The lone Bowie hit was recorded by catcher Chance Sisco, the O's 2013 second round pick, who was promoted to Double-A in time to face the Giolito buzz saw. Good thing he did! It is exciting to see he's continuing to hit his way up the ranks.
Frederick Keys 3, Carolina (Braves) 2
The Keys grabbed all three of their runs in the third inning of the game, and not a single one of them was charged as earned to Carolina's pitcher, former Orioles farmhand Matt Bywater. A two-out error sparked a rally that also saw a batter reach on a wild pitch after a swinging strikeout. After that, three straight singles brought in three runs.
Frederick also took advantage of some wild Mudcats pitching. Bywater issued five walks out of a total nine by Keys batters, and he uncorked three wild pitches. Josh Hart stole two bases in the game in addition to going 1-3 with two walks. He's got 22 steals in his Carolina League season.
Delmarva Shorebirds 8, Lakewood (Phillies) 2
A nice game for the Shorebirds, though they didn't get any contributions from the biggest prospect on the roster; Jomar Reyes took an 0-fer while wearing a sombrero - three strikeouts. Catcher Yermin Mercedes, a 22-year old Dominican Republic product, did the work for Delmarva, going 2-3 with a double, home run, and three RBI.
Delmarva also got a great outing from starter Matthew Grimes, who improved his record to 8-6 with a seven inning effort. He held the Blue Claws to a run on five hits and a walk in seven innings of work, striking out four batters. Grimes has gone at least six innings in seven of his last ten starts.
West Virginia (Pirates) 4, Aberdeen IronBirds 1
You're just not going to win many games where you only have four hits. First rounder D.J. Stewart went 0-4 with a golden sombrero - four strikeouts.
Saturday's Schedule
Norfolk: at Louisville, 6:05. Starter: Chris Jones
Bowie: at Harrisburg, 6:00. Starter: Ariel Miranda
Frederick: vs. Carolina, 6:00 (Meet the Soup Nazi + Fireworks) Starter: Mikey "Chief" O'Brien
Delmarva: vs. Lakewood, 7:05. (Fireworks!) Starter: Brian Gonzalez
Aberdeen: at Connecticut, 7:05. Starter: TBD
For complete box scores from Friday's games for the Orioles affiliates, including the adventures of the GCL and DSL Orioles, take a look here.