Orioles minor league recap 5/13: Rain and some late drama

Norfolk Tides 4, Gwinnett (Braves) 2

The Tides only got seven hits and did not collect any with runners in scoring position, which is usually a recipe to lose a game, but starter Asher Wojciechowski and the three relievers who followed him were good enough to make it stick. Wojciechowski struck out nine batters over six innings, allowing just two runs, lowering his season ERA to 4.50.

Norfolk’s offense was powered by a two-run home run hit by third baseman Drew Dosch. As the collection of dingbats can’t hit or field their way out of a wet paper bag at third base in Baltimore, the .313 batting average Dosch now holds looks interesting - though this was his first home run of the season, and he’s never hit double digit homers in the minors, so that’s probably what holds him back.

Hartford (Rockies) 6, Bowie Baysox 4

The Yard Goats - yes, that’s really their name - jumped out to a 4-0 lead through the first three innings before rain interrupted this contest for a while. There wasn’t much action after the rain delay until the seventh inning, when an Aderlin Rodriguez home run - his third of the year - finally got the Baysox on the board.

Unfortunately for Bowie, they gave up a pair of runs in the eighth inning. This put the game out of reach even when there was a dramatic three-run, two-out ninth inning home run hit by designated hitter Audry Perez. The Baysox only had five hits apiece, with Rodriguez and Perez picking up two hits each. Top position prospect Ryan Mountcastle was 1-4 in the game.

Potomac (Walgreens) 7, Frederick Keys 4

Some days you are the windshield and some days you are the bug. The Keys were the bug on Saturday, getting out-hit by a 16-6 margin. They made it closer on the scoreboard than you might think from that.

Center fielder Ryan McKenna drove in all four Keys runs with a pair of home runs, his third and fourth of the season. The Keys leadoff man is rocking an on-base percentage over .400 through 35 games. It’s a good showing in the first taste at High-A for the 21-year-old. As for the rest of Frederick, well, there’s not so much to say about them today.

Delmarva Shorebirds 8, Columbia (Mets) 7

This was a wild contest early on, with the two teams each scoring in the first three innings. This led to a tie at 7-7 that continued all the way through into the ninth inning, when Ryan Ripken, nephew of Billy, collected the game-winning RBI with a groundout.

Early season Shorebirds standouts T.J. Nichting and Trevor Craport had three hits apiece, with Ripken picking up another two. Nichting’s night included two doubles. Seven Shorebirds batters had a run batted in for the game.

Starting pitcher Gray Fenter continued a tough 2018 campaign, allowing seven runs in two-plus innings, with six hits and three walks surrendered. This leaves him with an 8.22 ERA so far.

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

Sunday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: at Gwinnett, 1:05. Starter: TBD
• Bowie: vs. Hartford, 1:35. Starter: Lucas Long
• Frederick: vs. Potomac, 2:00. Starter: Brian Gonzalez
• Delmarva: at Columbia, 2:05. Starter: DL Hall