Orioles minors recap 7/7: Cedric Mullins homers again

Norfolk Tides 1, Durham (Rays) 0

Not a very thrilling one if you’re a fan of offense. The teams combined for just eight hits, and after Cedric Mullins led off the game with a home run, there was no more scoring at all. The Mullins homer was his fourth in 33 games since joining the Tides and 10th in 82 minor league games overall.

This was one of just three Tides hits and that was enough. DJ Stewart was 0-2 but added a pair of walks to help his OBP. Tides starter Asher Wojciechowski tossed seven scoreless frames, scattering three hits, issuing no walks, and striking out 12 Bulls batters. Donnie Hart and Jhan Marinez added a scoreless inning each to finish off the game.

Harrisburg (Walgreens) 11, Bowie Baysox 0

In the “Orioles fans aren’t allowed to have nice things” department, pitching prospect Keegan Akin was squished like a bug in his outing here, surrendering four runs on three hits and four walks in just two innings pitched. His previous start on June 26 was cut short with a groin injury and he had a short layoff. Maybe he needed to shake some rust off, or maybe he wasn’t quite ready to come back.

It’s been a successful season for Akin overall so far, so hopefully this is nothing more than a little bump in the road. Things did not get any better for the Baysox pitchers after he left the game.

As for the rest of the Baysox, they only got six hits, so of course they got shut out. The good news is that recently-promoted outfielder Ryan McKenna was 2-4 with a pair of doubles. Fellow Baysox Ryan, Mountcastle, also had a double in the game.

Carolina (Brewers) 4, Frederick Keys 3

The rise of Zac Lowther has been one of the stories worth tracking in the O’s minors this season. Lowther continued his strikeout machine ways in this game, striking out seven batters. An elevated pitch count got him out of the game after just four innings, though. Lowther surrendered a run on six hits and two walks while throwing 85 pitches.

Chances didn’t come often for the Keys batters, who, though they managed to score three runs, had just six at-bats and only one hit with runners in scoring position.

Delmarva Shorebirds 9, Hagerstown (Walgreens) 3

Eight of the nine Shorebirds hitters picked up hits in the game, including freshly-drafted shortstop Cadyn Grenier going 2-4 with a triple and a walk. This was just his second professional game. Ryan Ripken, nephew of Billy, also had a multi-hit game. Leadoff man Kirvin Moesquit stole his 35th base of the season, and no, that’s not a typo.

Aberdeen IronBirds 5, Brooklyn (Mets) 4

25th round pick Nick Horvath made his professional debut and it went well: The center fielder was 3-4 including a double and a home run, with two runs scored and two runs driven in. Welcome to the pros! Robert Neustrom and Robbie Thorburn also had multi-hit games for Aberdeen.

GCL Orioles 8, GCL Rays 2

I don’t always mention the Gulf Coast League in this space. The GCL O’s get a mention today because 18th round pick and Marylander Jake Zebron pitched 5.1 scoreless innings. It is, of course, a long way from MLB for him, but it’s nice to see outings like that. Hopefully there are more to come.

Complete box scores from Friday’s games, also including the adventures of the DSL Orioles, can be found here.

Saturday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: at Durham, 6:35. Starter: John “The Ends Justify The” Means
• Bowie: vs. Harrisburg, 6:35. Starter: Reid Love
• Frederick: at Carolina, 5:00. Starter: Cristian Alvarado
• Delmarva: vs. Hickory, 7:05. Starter: Cameron Bishop
• Aberdeen: at Tri-City, 7:00. Starter: TBD