Orioles minors 6/12: Delmarva keeps hitting dingers, Norfolk keeps serving them up

Gwinnett (Braves) 10, Norfolk Tides 3

Man, are the Tides bad or what? Their record now sits at 21-43 - only three MLB teams since the turn of the century have finished with a winning percentage worse than that. Essentially nothing has gone well for this team so far, which makes the prospect of injured Orioles a little scary.

Gwinnett jumped out to an early lead in this game with five runs (four earned) off of Tides starter Ariel Miranda. Miranda, pictured above during better days in Frederick, is now 1-7 with a 5.37 ERA in his first taste of triple-A ball. The bullpen wasn't much better, as all three Tides relievers (Rodriguez, Beato, and McGough) gave up at least one run in an inning apiece.

Michael Almanzar was 2-4 with an RBI, and the other runs were driven in by Audry Perez and Sharlon Schoop, who both had the exact same batting line: 1-3 with a double and a walk.

New Hampshire (Toronto) 7, Bowie Baysox 3

Bowie was doomed by David Hess’s worst start of the season; he allowed six earned runs in four innings pitched. Hess had been having a nice year so far, with a 3.31 ERA heading into yesterday's start.

All of Bowie’s offense came from the bottom of the lineup, as each of the first four batters went hitless. Glynn Davis was 2-3 with an RBI, catcher Austin Wynns was 1-3 with an RBI double, and Tucker Nathans was 1-4 with an RBI. The only other Baysox hit on the day was a single by Quincy Latimore.

Frederick Keys 4, Potomac (Nationals) 3

The Keys moved a game above .500 with yesterday’s win. Frederick jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind home runs from Wynston Sawyer (2-2, 2 BB, HR) and Conor Bierfeldt (2-4, HR). That was the sixth home run in only 78 at bats for the 25-year-old Bierfeldt, who has made the most of his limited playing time with an OPS over .900.

Potomac took a 3-2 lead in the 4th, but none of those runs allowed by starter Trevor Belicek were earned thanks to two Frederick errors in the inning. Jomar Reyes made one of them, but he atoned for it in the sixth with a two-run double that put the Keys up for good.

Tanner Scott and Michael Zouzalik closed out the game with a pair of perfect outings - each retired all four batters he faced.

Delmarva Shorebirds 5, Lakewood (Phillies) 3

The Shorebirds have been the best team in the O’s organization this year and picked up another win yesterday. Starter Cristian Alvarado allowed three runs over five innings, although he did strike out eight with only one walk.

Delmarva made sure he picked up the win anyway, scoring early and often with a pair of solo shots by Steve Laurino and Gerrion Grim in the second inning and an RBI double by Ryan Mountcastle in the third. The 19-year-old Mountcastle is now hitting .285/.361/.425 on the year.

Alex Murphy hit his 11th home run of the season in the fifth, and Jesus Liranzo and Patrick Baker each tossed a pair of scoreless innings to seal up the win. Liranzo might be a guy to keep an eye on; it’s early, but he's allowed only two runs and four hits in 9.1 innings while striking out nine. Liranzo had a K/9 approaching eleven in the Dominican Summer League last year at age 20.

Today’s matchups (probable starter in parentheses)

Norfolk @ Charlotte, 7:05 PM (Yovani Gallardo)

Frederick @ Myrtle Beach, 7:05 PM (TBD)

Delmarva vs. Kannapolis, 7:05 PM (Francisco Jimenez)