Orioles prospects 5/10: Akin pitches a gem for Frederick

Norfolk Tides 7, Louisville Bats 2

The Tides sent 12 batters to the plate in a six-run first inning, and coasted the rest of the way to an easy win. Their offensive outburst was highlighted by Logan Schafer, who went 4-5 with 2 doubles, and Johnny Giovatella, who was 3-4 with a double and a triple.

Mike Wright had a solid start, allowing two earned runs in 5.2 innings, and the bullpen blanked Louisville the rest of the way. Edwin Jackson made his second appearance of the season and recorded five outs while allowing no hits and one walk.

Reading Fightin’ Phils 4, Bowie Baysox 3

John Means allowed four runs over five innings in his second straight weak start after a great stretch to begin his season. His 1.40 ERA after his first five outings has increased to 3.75 over the past week.

Lucas Long was dominant in relief, pitching three perfect innings to keep Bowie in the game, but the Baysox just couldn’t get many timely hits. One of the few came from Austin Wynns, who was 2-3 on the day with an RBI single, raising his average to .363 for the year.

Frederick Keys 7, Down East Wood Ducks 2

The bottom third of the lineup carried the Keys in this one, with Ademar Rifaela, Stuart Levy, and Ricardo Andujar combining for eight of Frederick’s 13 hits. Rifaela and Levy each hit solo homers, as did Ryan Mountcastle, who’s now hitting .305/.338/.542 on the season.

Keegan Akin had his best outing of the season, pitching into the eight inning and allowing just two runs on three hits. After a rough start to the year, he’s allowed two or less runs in four of his last five appearances. Akin skipped Delmarva entirely after playing in Aberdeen last year, so the adjustment to better competition may have had something to do with his early struggles.

Columbia Fireflies 7, Delmarva Shorebirds 1

Lucas Humpal had his second consecutive quality start, although a line such as this one (6 IP, 3 ER, 9 H) tends to highlight how arbitrary that stat really is. He kept Delmarva in the game, though, but the bullpen let it get out of hand.

Meanwhile, the Shorebirds couldn’t get anything going against Columbia starter Gabriel Llanes, who pitched a complete game. Delmarva’s only run came in the ninth, on an RBI single by Alejandro Juvier.

The only Delmarva player with multiple hits was Ryan McKenna, who was 2-4 from the leadoff spot. The Shorebirds didn’t have a single extra-base hit in the game.

Today’s matchups and probable starters

Norfolk @ Indianapolis, 7:05 PM (Jayson Aquino)

Bowie vs. Richmond, 6:35 PM (David Hess)

Frederick vs. Down East, 11:00 AM (Cody Sedlock)

Delmarva vs. Columbia, doubleheader @ 6:35 PM (TBD for both)