Orioles prospects 8/6: Flaherty goes 4-for-4 for Bowie

Durham (Rays) 1, Norfolk Tides 0

The Tides had some impressive pitching performances on Sunday, but failed to get much of anything going at the plate. They just needed two runs, but it’s tough to score at all when you only manage to scatter four singles.

On the mound for the Tides, Mike Wright and Chris Lee each went four innings and change to split the game. Wright got the start and struck out five over four and two-thirds scoreless innings. Lee took over in the fifth and struck out four over four and one-third innings with just the one earned run.

Despite taking the loss on Sunday, Lee has been impressive since his move to the bullpen. The earned run on Sunday marked his first allowed over 12 innings.

Portland (Red Sox) 5, Bowie Baysox 4

The Sea Dogs tagged Bowie starter John Means for two solo home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game up before the two teams started swapping zeroes. In the bottom of the tenth, Portland came through in front of their home crowd with a walk off walk.

Means was victimized by the long ball three times, but otherwise held the Sea Dogs lineup in check. The righty out of WVU struck out seven over six innings. Ryan Flaherty went 4-for-4 with two walks and scored three of Bowie’s four runs to remind everyone that he’s a major league veteran. That must’ve felt great in his hometown of Portland, Maine.

Austin Hays went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI, and two walks as he continues to state his case for a September call-up. After slashing .328/.364/.592 in Frederick, Hays is now putting up even better numbers in Bowie with a batting line of .340/.374/.634.

Wilmington (Royals) 5, Frederick Keys 4

The Keys also lost on a walk-off but at least it was in much more dramatic fashion than the Baysox. After taking the lead on an Ademar Rifaela home run in the top of the tenth, the Keys then allowed two runs in the bottom half of the frame to drop the series finale.

Rifaela also went yard earlier in the game and now has 21 on the year to lead the Carolina League by four. The 22-year-old from Curacao still sits outside of the organization’s top-30 prospects according MLB pipeline, but he is one to follow if he continues to hit like he has in 2017. Bowie will be a big step for him whenever it comes.

On the mound, Cristian Alvarado had a quality start going six and two-thirds strong innings. The young Venezuelan surrendered three runs, one of which was unearned. His ERA has been steadily lowering as he continues to have more strong outings than stinkers.

West Virginia (Pirates) 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 2

The Shorebirds took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning before the wheels came off for starter Zach Muckenhirn. The lefty from North Dakota surrendered three earned runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning, and then in the sixth frame allowed three more before being pulled without recording an out.

Second baseman Tanner Kirk had Delmarva’s only multi-hit game going 2-for-4. Shortstop Milton Ramos, one of our newish international bonus slot guys, hit his first home run of the season to account for Delmarva’s only extra-base hit.

Tri-City (Astros) 9, Aberdeen IronBirds 3

The IronBirds also fell on Sunday in what turned into a winless day for the Orioles’ minor league affiliates. If there’s any silver lining, at least every game but Norfolk was played on the road as to not disappoint the hometown fans. Plus the Orioles won, so whatever.

Second-round comp pick Zac Lowther got the start for Aberdeen and impressed yet again. The former Xavier Musketeer allowed one run over three innings and struck out six. Lowther has now racked up 35 K’s to only 4 BB’s over 28.1 IP.

Recently named the organization’s Player of the Month for July, Ben Breazeale went hitless on the afternoon, but still reached base four times. Starting in the DH spot, the part-time catcher went 0-for-1 with four walks to bring his OBP up to .473 for the IronBirds.

Complete box scores from Sunday’s games can be found here.

Monday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: at Lehigh Valley, 7:05. Starter: Gabriel Ynoa
• Bowie: OFF
• Frederick: OFF
• Delmarva: vs. Hagerstown, 7:05. Starter: Matthias Dietz
• Aberdeen: at Tri-City, 7:00. Starter: TBD