Orioles minors recap 7/1: Chris Tillman’s rehab still not going well

Durham (Rays) 11, Norfolk Tides 8 - 11 innings

The Orioles ongoing quandary about what to do with Chris Tillman has yet to be resolved. This latest outing for Norfolk did not offer any solution. There’s not much else that can be said to save an outing where, against Triple-A competition, Tillman gave up five runs on eight hits and three walks. That’s a bad time.

Outside of Tillman’s outing, it was a big of a crazy game, with the teams committing three errors each and combining for 26 hits. There was a lot of back and forth that sent the contest into extra frames. Ultimately, the Bulls could score three runs in the eleventh while the Tides stayed off the board even with the bonus runner.

Cedric Mullins was the standout for the Tides, which is good news for everyone who watches the sad state of the Orioles outfield on a daily basis. Mullins was 3-5 in the game, hitting his third Norfolk home run. He drew a walk, too. Hooray, on-base percentage! DJ Stewart was on base three times, getting a hit, a hit by pitch, and a walk. He was caught stealing once and picked off once, so, oops on that one.

Bowie Baysox 2, Erie (Tigers) 1

The Baysox only had seven hits, and they made them count, with a pair of triples that drove in their two runs. Thanks to good pitching, it held up! Brian Gonzalez has had a tough time at Bowie this season, but he was great on Saturday, scattering five hits and giving up just one run in seven innings. He didn’t walked anyone and picked up nine strikeouts.

After Gonzalez came Marylander Branden Kline, who finished the game off with three strikeouts over two scoreless innings. Kline has a 1.85 ERA for the Baysox this season after a promotion from Frederick, where he had a 1.31 ERA. Perhaps his comeback story could still make its way towards Baltimore.

Former Rule 5 guy Anthony Santander was 2-4 with one of the run-scoring triples. Ryan Mountcastle, 1-3 with a walk, delivered the other. In 48 games for the Baysox, Mountcastle is batting .305/.359/.483. Not too shabby.

Lynchburg (Indians) 8, Frederick Keys 1

You might see the other team scoring eight runs and assume the starting pitcher was not any good, but it was actually an Oriolesque bullpen meltdown, with Keys relievers giving up seven runs in the seventh inning. Oops! Starter Lucas Humpal was pretty good, keeping the Hillcats off the board with just three hits allowed in 5.2 innings.

Keys batters reached base just seven times in the game. Three of their seven hits were doubles, but they just couldn’t string together enough to get much in the way of offense, going 1-7 in chances with runners in scoring position.

Delmarva Shorebirds 7, Lakewood (Phillies) 2

The Shorebirds capitalized on two Blue Claws errors to get a pair of unearned runs, but they did plenty on their own to drive in runs as they picked up 13 hits. Center fielder Kirvin Moesquit starred with a 4-5 game that included a pair of doubles and also a walk. Ryan Ripken, nephew of Billy, had a 2-4 effort and also drew a walk.

Last year’s first round pick, DL Hall, kept Lakewood off the board in four innings. However, Hall gave up three hits and four walks, so he had to do some work to keep any runs from scoring. Although Hall has a 3.14 ERA for the Shorebirds, he’s also walked 27 batters in 48.2 innings for the season. It’s something to keep an eye on going forward.

Lowell (Red Sox) 6, Aberdeen IronBirds 4

It’s hard to win a game where you get only three hits, and indeed, Aberdeen lost the game. They had their share of chances, though, drawing seven walks. Their opponents, the Spinners, also committed three errors. Not unlike the Keys, they couldn’t string anything together, just 1-9 with RISP chances.

One standout was the Chinese player, Guiyuan Xu, who was 1-3 with a double and a walk in the game.

Not so much of a standout was starting pitcher Gray Fenter. You may recall him from Delmarva box scores earlier in the season and he got bounced down to Aberdeen, where things aren’t going better. Fenter allowed four runs on six hits and two walks.

Complete box scores from Saturday’s games, including the adventures of the GCL and DSL Orioles, can be found here.

Sunday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: vs. Durham, 1:05. Starter: Asher Wojciechowski
• Bowie: at Erie, 7:05. Starter: Keegan Akin
• Frederick: vs. Lynchburg, 2:00. Starter: Zac Lowther
• Delmarva: at Lakewood, 1:05. Starter: Jhon Peluffo
• Aberdeen: vs. Hudson Valley, 4:05. Starter: TBD