Norfolk Tides 9, Charlotte (White Sox) 5
The Tides unloaded on these jokers for eight runs in the first inning of the game. It got interesting later, as you can see, but nonetheless a fairly convincing performance. The Joseph Brothers, Caleb and Corban, combined for five of the twelve Norfolk hits and they each drove in two runs. Caleb is apparently not enjoined from either hitting or driving in runs at the Triple-A level.
Trey Mancini’s quest for a September call-up didn’t get much of a boost in this game as he went 0-3 with only a walk drawn. Christian Walker was in a similar situation with a 1-4 game. Impress them, guys! Though of course what they really need on the Orioles is a pitcher.
Speaking of those, Jayson Aquino, who is on the 40-man roster, was summoned for long relief when the starter ran into difficulty. Aquino pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, striking out five and giving up just two hits. That’s good for the Tides on Saturday but not so good for his chances of being called up to the Orioles even though T.J. McFarland stunk and they desperately need a long reliever on Sunday.
By the way, former Orioles prospect Nick Delmonico, now going by Nicky, has somehow made his way to the Triple-A level and played for Charlotte in this game. He went 1-5 and drove in a run. Delmonico has a .699 OPS since getting promoted to Triple-A so there’s no need to regret that part of that trade.
Bowie Baysox 5, Binghamton (Mets) 0
Hooray, a shutout! David Hess blanked the Mets for six innings, Brian Duensing added another two innings on a rehab stint, and then Bobby Bundy closed things out. Hess lowered his ERA to 5.31 with the scoreless outing, which tells you a lot about how his season is going and why they haven’t tried him out at the big league level this year.
Chance Sisco had the day off, so with apologies to the nine Baysox gentlemen who did bat in the game, their doings don’t matter so much.
Frederick Keys 6, Salem (Red Sox) 4 (Game 1 - 7 innings)
Remember, in a minor league doubleheader, regulation is seven innings. The Keys scored four in the seventh - and they proved to be important runs as Salem scored three in the bottom of the seventh.
The first name to look for in the Keys box score is D.J. Stewart. He went 1-3 and drew a walk. Hey, that’s a nice game. He’s had more than a few of those since getting promoted to Frederick, which is both puzzling and delightful to someone like myself who’d been pessimistic about his chances after his Aberdeen and Delmarva performance.
Salem (Red Sox) 3, Frederick Keys 1 (Game 2 - 7 innings)
A loss for the Keys, but speaking of Stewart, in this second game he went 1-2 and drew TWO walks. I love walks! They don’t have to be walks on the beach. They can be anywhere. Preferably not long walks off short piers, though. Anyway, Stewart has now played 51 games for Frederick and has a .272/.383/.422 batting line.
Nobody else on the team did much. They only had three hits total.
Delmarva Shorebirds 6, Lexington (Royals) 2
Our man Alex Murphy, who’s our man since he’s from Baltimore, went 3-4 in this game and scored two of Delmarva’s runs. That was the most interesting thing about the game. Ryan Mountcastle had the day off.
And a shout out to starting pitcher Reid Love, who’s been grinding it out in the Delmarva rotation this season and, as the season comes towards a close, his latest outing gives him a 3.40 ERA for 2016. Should be good for a ticket to Frederick there.
Hudson Valley (Rays) 7, Aberdeen IronBirds 4
Trouble struck early for second round pick Matthias Dietz, who gave up five runs (two earned) in two innings, with five hits and two walks allowed. Yikes. It was also a bit of a track meet on the bases, as the Renegades stole five bases on the Dietz/Jerry McClanahan tandem.
If you want to look on the bright side, third rounder Austin Hays went 3-4 with a double - though a college hitter should certainly be doing well in short-season A-ball - and Preston Palmeiro was 2-4. Ditto about him.
For complete box scores from Saturday’s games, check out here.
Today’s Scheduled Games
- Norfolk: vs. Charlotte, 6:05. Starter: Odrisamer Despaigne
- Bowie: vs. Binghamton, 2:05. Starter: Matthew Grimes
- Frederick: at Salem, 4:05. Starter: Mitch Horacek
- Delmarva: vs. Lexington, 5:05. Starter: Francisco Jimenez
- Aberdeen: vs. Hudson Valley, 5:35. Starter: Alex Wells