Orioles minors 8-14: Norfolk bats go crazy in the sixth, Frederick wins with just four hits

Norfolk Tides 11, Toledo Mud Hens (DET) 3

There are bad innings, and then there are innings where all nine of your opponents’ hitters reach first base safely. For Toledo, the bottom of the sixth was the latter kind of inning.

The Tides had a double, six singles, two stolen bases and two walks in the sixth, turning a 3-3 tie into a 10-3 laugher. One of the three outs was a TOOTBLAN by Xavier Avery trying to stretch a single into a double. If he hadn’t done that, the inning might still be going on.

Six Norfolk batters had multi-hit games, including 3-hit efforts by Trey Mancini and L.J. Hoes. Xavier Avery hit a two-run home run in the fifth to give Norfolk a 3-2 lead before all hell broke loose an inning later.

Mike Wright picked up the win for the Tides; he allowed all three Toledo runs over seven innings of work.

Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF) 3, Bowie Baysox 0

Bowie got a nice start from John Means, who allowed just one run over six innings. Unfortunately for him, he was outdueled by Cory Taylor, who completely shut down the Baysox with seven shutout frames.

The Baysox managed only six hits, and half of those were by Drew Dosch - he was 3-4 with a double. Tucker Nathans was 2-4 with a double, and Julio Borbon had the only other Bowie hit.

Frederick Keys 5, Potomac Nationals (WAS) 3

Potomac jumped out to 2-0 lead in the first inning with a pair of RBI hits after a two-out error by second baseman Steve Wilkerson extended the inning. Frederick starter Jon Keller went just four innings, but a solo shot in the second was the only earned run he allowed on the day.

The Keys got on the board in the first with an RBI double by Aderlin Rodriguez, and cut the lead to 3-4 in the fourth with a solo homer from Cameron Kneeland. An RBI single by Josh Hart tied the game in the fifth, and it would stay that way until a two-out, two-run double by Austin Wynns in the bottom of the eighth.

Interestingly, the four run-scoring hits I just mentioned were the only four hits Frederick had in the game. Other than Kneeland’s home run, every runner who scored for the Keys reached base on a walk.

Jeff Beliveau contributed three shutout innings in relief of Keller. As to why a 29-year-old reliever who pitched in 30 games for the Rays two years ago is now in single-A, I have no idea. Ivan Hernandez pitched two shutout innings of his own to finish out the game and pick up the win.

Delmarva Shorebirds 4, West Virginia Power (PIT) 3

The Shorebirds got a solid start from Brian Gonzalez, who went six innings and gave up just one run. The 20-year-old Gonzalez has a 2.54 ERA through 128 innings for Delmarva - he could end up being the organization’s pitcher of the year when it’s all said and done.

Delmarva trailed 1-0 until the fifth, when a two-run homer by Gerrion Grim gave them the lead. They added two insurance runs in the sixth when Ademar Rifaela led off with a triple, Ryan Mountcastle singled him home, and Nataneal Delgado drove in Mountcastle with a double.

Mike Burke replaced Gonzalez for the seventh and allowed two runs, but Lex Rutledge was able to shut the door with a five-out save.

Lowell Spinners (BOS) 8, Aberdeen Ironbirds 0

This one was ugly. Matthias Dietz allowed two runs in a short three-inning start, but when your offense has three hits total in the game, that’s enough to get you the loss. The bullpen didn’t fare much better for Aberdeen - the only bright spot was Will Shepley, who had 2.1 shutout innings and lowered his ERA to 2.25 over 14 relief appearances.