Orioles minor league recap 7/17: Bowie storms back in the ninth

Buffalo (Blue Jays) 8, Norfolk Tides 1

David Hess struggled again after being sent back to Triple-A Norfolk. Hess allowed five runs on 8 hits in 6.1 innings, and also walked three batters. Aside from a pair of runs in the fourth, Hess pitched well until the seventh inning. He gave up three singles before being pulled for reliever Sean Gilmartin. Gilmartin proceeded to give up a grand slam, and Hess was charged with three of the four runs.

The grand slam broke open what had been a close game. The Tides scored first via a Renato Nunez solo home run. However, the Tides failed to score after that. Former Pirates prospect Brandon Cumpton held Norfolk in check through five, and the Buffalo bullpen did the rest.

Bowie Baysox 5, Altoona (Pirates) 2

Trailing by one, Bowie exploded for four runs in the top of the ninth to come away with a 5-2 victory in Altoona. Ryan Mountcastle led off the ninth with a single and came around to tie the game on an Anderson Feliz single. Pinch runner Anthony Santander scored on a pass ball, and Martin Cervenka capped the four run inning with a two-run shot.

Luis Ysla allowed two runs in 6.2 innings for Bowie. Three relief pitchers kept the Curve off the board for the remainder of the game. Taylor Hearn kept the Baysox in check for six innings, but Bowie got to Curve reliever Sean Keselica in his third inning of relief.

Delmarva Shorebirds 4, West Virginia (Pirates) 1

DL Hall pitched six strong innings to pick up his second win of the year for Delmarva. Hall gave up only three hits and one run. He lowered his ERA to 2.44 and struck out 10 West Virginia batters.

Will Robertson doubled and finished 3-4 for Delmarva. Zach Jarrett and Ben Breazeale also had multi-hit games for the Shorebirds. Delmarva tied the game in the sixth and took the lead with another run in the seventh. They added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away.

Potomac (Nationals) 10, Frederick Keys 7

Any time a team scores six runs in one inning, it should have a pretty good chance to win the game. Unfortunately for the Keys, they failed to score again after a six-run second inning, and fell 10-7 to Potomac. T.J. Nichting led Frederick with three RBIs. Nichting doubled twice, and finished 2-3 on the day with a run scored. Yojhan Quevedo and Alejandro Juvier both finished 2-4 with a run scored, and Juvier also drove a run in.

Frederick’s Zac Lowther struggled through three innings. He was charged with five runs on five hits and four walks. However, the Keys offensive explosion in the second prevented Lowther from taking the loss. Instead, Mike Burke was the pitcher of record after tossing three innings of relief. Burke also allowed five runs and gave up nine hits.

Auburn (Nationals) 8, Aberdeen IronBirds 2

Auburn scored at least one run in five of the final six innings, and cruised to an 8-2 victory over Aberdeen. The IronBirds and Doubledays failed to score in the first three innings, but Auburn broke through with three in the fourth and two more in the fifth inning.

Willy Yahn and Dalton Hoiles both tallied two hits for Aberdeen. Hoiles doubled in the fifth and scored during a fielder’s choice to get the IronBirds on the board. Nick Horvath tripled to lead off the sixth, and Yahn singled to score the team’s only other run. Gray Fenter took the loss for Aberdeen after giving up three runs on five hits in two innings. Five Aberdeen pitchers combined to walk seven Auburn batters.

Box scores for yesterday’s games can be found here

Today’s scheduled games

Norfolk at Buffalo, 7:05. Starter: Jimmy Yacabonis (3-2, 2.91)

Bowie at Altoona, 7:00. Starter: Brian Gonzalez (2-5, 6.89)

Delmarva at West Virginia, 12:05. Starter: Jhon Peluffo (3-4, 5.05)

Aberdeen at Lowell, 6:35. Starter: TBD