Orioles prospects 6/28: Big nights for a pair of Ironbirds

Louisville Bats 5, Norfolk Tides 3 (10 innings)

Norfolk couldn’t get anything going against Louisville starter Robert Stephenson, so they found themselves down 3-0 in the seventh despite a solid start from Tyler Wilson. In the bottom of the seventh, David Washington hit a two-run bomb for his 13th of the season.

The Tides knotted up the game in the eighth on an RBI double by Johnny Giavotella, but Richard Rodriguez allowed a two-run homer in the top of the tenth to give Louisville the 5-3 win.

Chris Dickerson was 3-4 from the leadoff spot, and Pedro Alvarez was 2-4 with a double. Other than those two guys, the Tides only mustered two hits.

Bowie Baysox 6, Altoona Curve 3

Matthew Grimes had a decent start, allowing three runs in six innings, but the Bowie lineup was shut down by the Altoona pitching staff until the bottom of the eighth. The Baysox, down 3-1 at the time, dropped a five-spot on the Curve in that inning on their way to a 6-3 win.

After the Baysox put two runners on, a throwing error by the catcher on a Cedric Mullins sacrifice bunt resulted in a bases loaded situation for Austin Hays. As usual, Hays delivered with an RBI single.

After two more runs scored on a Garabez Rosa groundout and a D.J. Stewart single, Mike Yastrzemski broke it open with a two-run base hit for a 6-3 lead. Jefri Hernandez came on for the ninth to pick up the save.

Frederick Keys 10, Wilmington Blue Rocks 4

Cristian Alvarado didn’t seem like had had an awful outing, allowing three earned runs and pitching two outs into the sixth, but his performance looks a lot shakier if you check out the underlying numbers: nine hits, two walks, three strikeouts.

When Alvarado left the game, it was all knotted up at 3-3 thanks to a first-inning RBI single from Randolph Gassaway and a two-run base hit from Shane Hoelscher in the third. That was how it would stay until the bottom of the sixth when the Keys took the lead for good on an RBI groundout by Glynn Davis and an RBI single by Drew Turbin.

The narrow 5-3 lead became an even narrower 5-4 lead heading into the bottom of the eight, but then there were dongs. Armando Araiza hit a solo shot to double the lead, and then the Wilmington bullpen fell apart.

Two walks and a single later, Randolph Gassaway hit a grand slam to get the Baysox into double digits. Gassaway was 3-3 on the night with two walks and five RBI. Shane Hoelscher also had three hits, while Ryan Mountcastle and Armando Araiza each had a pair.

Hagerstown Suns 3, Delmarva Shorebirds 1

Matthias Dietz had one of his best starts of the year (6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 5 K), but he took the loss nonetheless, falling to 0-7 on the season. There’s not much to say about the Shorebirds’ performance at the plate: an RBI sac fly from Cole Billingsley in the fifth brought in their only run of the night.

Catcher Stuart Levy was 2-3 in his first game with Delmarva after spending the first half of the year with the Keys. No other Shorebird had more than one hit, and nobody had any extra-base hits.

Aberdeen Ironbirds 6, Brooklyn Cyclones 1

The Ironbirds got a really strong pitching performance from starter Brenan Hanifee, last year’s 4th round pick. The 19-year-old gave up just one run in six innings while striking out seven. He went six shutout innings in his first professional start last Thursday.

Brooklyn took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but first baseman Seamus Curran hit a two-run shot, his second of the year, to put Aberdeen in front. The Ironbirds added three more runs in the seventh, due in large part to a throwing error by the pitcher on a Kirvin Moesquit ground ball with two runners on.

Curran hit yet another home run in the bottom of the eighth, increasing the lead to 6-1. That was where it would stay, as Jon Keller finished off the Cyclones in the ninth. James Teague, last year’s 37th round pick, pitched the seventh and eighth innings and was perfect. He sat down all six batters he faced, including four strikeouts.

Today’s matchups and probable starters

Louisville @ Norfolk, 12:05 PM (Jordan Kipper)

Altoona @ Bowie, 11:05 AM (Jesus Liranzo)

Wilmington @ Frederick, 7:00 PM (Brian Gonzalez)

Hagerstown @ Delmarva, 7:05 PM (Jhon Peluffo)

Brooklyn @ Abderdeen, 7:05 PM (Tobias Myers)