Gwinnett (Braves) 6, Norfolk Tides 4
Not a great outcome for the Tides, just as it has been a horrendous season for Norfolk. They are 21-42. Yikes. David Hale was the Tides starting pitcher and he bore the brunt of this, giving up six runs, five earned, on eight hits. Hale has a 5.86 ERA since being claimed off waivers from the Rockies.
The good news is that, from a “Hey, these guys might actually help the Orioles” standpoint, the game was positive. That’s thanks to Mike Yastrzemski putting together a 3-4 night that included a double and a home run. Yaz is now batting .304/.387/.587 in his 25 Norfolk games.
Another prospect-y kind of dude, Trey Mancini, turned in a 3-5 night with a double. That leaves Mancini with an .804 OPS in 45 games since getting promoted to Norfolk.
New Hampshire (Blue Jays) 2, Bowie Baysox 0
Not a whole lot to say about this one. The Bowie hitters only safely reached base six times in the game. Also their roster has basically no position players who matter, except for Chance Sisco, who went 1-4 in the game. More power to him. Also ugly is that the Baysox committed four errors in the contest.
Starting pitcher Jayson Aquino limited the Fisher Cats to two runs, one earned over six innings of work. Those runs crossed the plate thanks to five hits and two walks. Aquino, 23, has a 3.23 ERA in 11 games since joining the O’s organization from the Cardinals in April.
Frederick Keys 2, Potomac (Walgreens) 0 (Game 1 - 7 innings)
Minor league doubleheaders are only scheduled for seven innings per game. The two teams combined for nine hits. Not much offense to speak of there. Actual prospect Jomar Reyes had a 2-3 day and drove in one of the Keys runs. Catcher Jonah Heim stole a base. It’s always funny when a catcher steals a base.
Frederick Keys 3, Potomac (Walgreens) 0 (Game 2 - 7 innings)
A bit more offense in this one, at least, as the Keys picked up ten hits to Potomac’s four. Heim was the DH in the second game and went 1-3. Reyes was 0-4 in the second game.
Keys starter Mitch Horacek grabbed a seven inning complete game here, pulling off his best start of the year by striking out seven Potomac hitters and only allowing four hits and two walks.
Delmarva Shorebirds 5, Lakewood (Phillies) 4
As the 2016 draft concluded, two of last year’s draft picks were in the 1-2 spots in the order for Delmarva and each had a nice day. Ryan Mountcastle went 3-4 with a home run, his fifth of the year, while last year's 13th rounder, Cedric Mullins, was a homer short of the cycle out of the leadoff spot. D.J. Stewart went 1-4, which is a good day for him.
Maryland’s own Ryan Meisinger picked up his fourth save of the year by blanking the BlueClaws for the final three innings of the game. Meisinger, last year's 11th rounder, now has a 0.85 ERA for the Shorebirds this year. With the lower ranks swelling after the draft, perhaps some of these guys will move up to make space on Delmarva’s roster.
For complete box scores from Saturday’s contests, including the adventures of the two Dominican Summer League Orioles teams, take a look here.
Today’s Scheduled Games:
- Norfolk: at Gwinnett, 2:05. Starter: Ariel Miranda
- Bowie: at New Hampshire, 1:35. Starter: David Hess
- Frederick: at Potomac, 1:05. Starter: TBD
- Delmarva: vs. Lakewood, 2:05. Starter: TBD