Orioles minors 6/8: Despaigne's impressive outing in Norfolk

Norfolk Tides 6, Durham Bulls 2.

It was a tremendous night, again, for Odrisamer Despaigne. He threw six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits, three walks and striking out five. His ERA is now down to 3.59; the former Padre is seemingly on track to be vying for the next opening in the rotation.

Unfortunately, veteran journeyman Pedro Beato collapsed in the eighth and cost Despaigne the win, surrendering a two-run home run to put Durham ahead.

But not to be out-fireworked (that's a word, right?), the Norfolk offense decided to have some fun at the dish after sleep-walking through the first eight innings. In the top of the ninth, the Tides exploded for five runs. With the help of some small-ball and L.J. Hoes' second and third RBI of the night (he hit a solo shot in the sixth), Norfolk captured the win after a topsy-turvy night of play.

Bowie Baysox 4, Portland Sea Dogs 1

Bowie starter John Means, the 23-year-old West Virginia alum, got his first win with the Baysox on Wednesday. After being called up from Frederick where he had a 5-0 record and 1.50 ERA, Means' third start was a step back in the right direction. He tossed seven innings of one-run baseball, allowing just four hits and no walks. He only had one strikeout, but a win is a win!

Four members of the lineup had multi-hit games, led by catcher Chance Sisco. Now batting .317 on the season, he went 2-4 with a double and two RBI. Tucker Nathans also collected two hits - a pair of singles with an RBI.

West Virginia Power 7, Delmarva Shorebirds 2

21-year-old Francisco Jimenez, who entered the game with a 6.04 ERA, had another rough outing for Delmarva. He lasted six innings, but surrendered five runs (four earned), with six hits and a walk against. He did strike out six, but the night was marred by three hits against with runners in scoring position.

The Shorebirds managed just four hits on the night, interestingly enough three of them coming from the bottom third of the order. They had no match for West Virginia on the night ... Ryan Mountcastle and Yermin Mercedes were both in the lineup and held hitless. On the bright side, D.J. Stewart did walk twice and Alex Murphy collected a ninth-inning hit.

With the loss, Delmarva falls to 32-25.

Today's starters

Norfolk vs. Durham, 7:05. Starter: Joe Gunkel

Bowie vs. Portland, 7:00. Starter: Brandon Barker

Frederick vs. Potomac, 7:05. Starter: TBD

Delmarva vs. Lakewood, 7:05. Starter: Ofelky Peralta