Orioles minors recap 6/29: Hanifee leads Delmarva to victory, but nobody else wins

Durham Bulls (Rays) 12, Norfolk Tides 1

Oof. This was not the Tides’ day. Starter Tim Melville was torched for six runs and 10 hits in 5.2 innings, inflating his season ERA to 6.32. Melville started the season pretty well, and had a 3.47 ERA as recently as May 23, but since then it’s all fallen apart. He’s allowed four or more runs in each of his last six starts, and a total of 21 in his last three. Lefty reliever Andrew Faulkner had a night to forget, too, coughing up six runs in 1.1 innings. The Bulls scored eight runs in the sixth inning.

Offensively, the Tides collected nine hits but went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Cedric Mullins was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run. Tides All-Star selection D.J. Stewart went 1-for-4 with a double, and fellow All-Star Drew Dosch was 2-for-4.

Akron RubberDucks (Indians) 6, Bowie Baysox 4

Bowie fell behind 6-0 thanks to a rough start by Luis Ysla — four innings, six earned runs — and was never able to recover. A tip of the hat goes to Matthew Grimes, who provided stellar long relief work by tossing five shutout innings to save the bullpen.

Aderlin Rodriguez tied the team lead with his ninth homer, a three-run shot in the fourth that cut the deficit in half. Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan McKenna, and Anthony Santander each had one hit.

Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox) 10, Frederick Keys 8

The Keys are currently playing a five-game series against Winston-Salem, which is kind of weird. With the win by the Dash tonight, they’ve split the first four games and will play the rubber match tomorrow. Unfortunately it was promising prospect (and my birthday buddy) Michael Baumann who got hit hard tonight.

Baumann, who hadn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his first 14 starts of the year, was completely out of sorts in this one. He was tattooed for seven runs on 10 hits, including a pair of Gavin Sheets home runs, in five innings. The rough outing inflated his ERA more than a full run, from 2.43 to 3.55. Go get ‘em next time, kid.

A number of Keys hitters had big nights at the plate, starting at the top with leadoff man T.J. Nichting, who was 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. First baseman Wilson Garcia hit two home runs and drove in five, and left fielder Jake Ring also homered.

Delmarva Shorebirds 8, Greensboro Grasshoppers (Marlins) 3

Delmarva was the only affiliate to win tonight, riding 2016 fourth-rounder Brenan Hanifee to victory. Hanifee delivered a quality start — six innings, two runs — and has a 2.63 ERA this season. With Baumann and Zac Lowther having been promoted to Frederick in past weeks, Hanifee is the Shorebirds’ best starting pitcher right now.

Branden Becker and “Danger” Will Robertson each homered for Delmarva. Becker’s was part of a 3-for-5, three-RBI night. Leadoff man Kirvin “The Mosquito” Moesquit swiped two bases and now has 33 steals this season, which leads the South Atlantic League by 15 over the next-closest challenger.

Aberdeen Ironbirds vs. Lowell Spinners (Red Sox) — POSTPONED

The scheduled game in Lowell was rained out and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Friday.

Complete box scores can be found here.

Friday’s scheduled games:

• Norfolk vs. Durham, 7:05 PM. Starter: Matt Wotherspoon (2-4, 3.92)
• Bowie at Erie, 7:05 PM. Starter: TBD
• Frederick vs. Winston-Salem, 7:00 PM. Starter: Alex Wells (3-4, 3.29)
• Delmarva at Greensboro, 7:00 PM. Starter: Matthias Dietz (6-1, 3.69)
• Aberdeen at Lowell, doubleheader, Game 1 at 5:30 PM. Starters: TBD