Orioles minor league recap 8/20: Diaz homer provides only runs Akin needs

Norfolk Tides 7, Scranton Wilkes-Barre (Yankees) 6

The Tides plated five runs from the sixth inning on to beat the RailRiders. It was a big win, as Scranton/WB was two games ahead of Norfolk in the Wild Card standings. The Tides are now a game out with 16 games to play.

Drew Dosch and Jaycob Brugman each homered for Norfolk, each solo shots. Garabez Rosa collected three hits and two RBI. Chance Sisco went 0-3 and his average lowered to .215. He did drive in a run. DJ Stewart went 1-4 and scored a run.

Josh Rogers started for Norfolk and wasn’t particularly sharp. He tossed five innings while allowing three runs on six hits and one walk. The performance raised his ERA in five Norfolk starts to 2.08. Evan Phillips recorded two outs but allowed an earned run. Donnie Hart was credited with the win even though he got only one batter out.

Bowie Baysox 3, Erie (Tigers) 1

The Keegan Akin train keeps on rolling. The lefty pitched 6.2 innings of shutout ball and struck out six. He allowed our hits and did not walk a batter. His season numbers speak for themselves.

While the O’s acquired some nice pitching prospects in July, Akin will most likely shoot up the offseason prospects rankings based on the amazing season he’s having in the Eastern League. Chris Lee pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in relief. Brandon Kline notched his 12th save despite allowing a run in the ninth.

The only runs Akin needed to secure the win came from a Yusniel Diaz three-run homer in the fourth inning. It was his third home run since joining the Orioles organization and his ninth overall. Bowie managed only five hits other than that. Ryan McKenna and Ryan Mountcastle each had one and Aderlin Rodriguez added two.

Lynchburg (Indians) 6, Frederick Keys 4

Frederick couldn’t come up with the win in the rubber game of this series. Matthias Dietz started and gave up three runs in 3.1 innings. But the real story was the seven free passes he issued. That makes 70 walks in 99 innings pitched this season. The 2016 second round pick is not developing as hoped.

Despite Dietz’s struggles, the Keys had a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. It was all Lynchburg from there, as Travis Seabrooke and Steven Klimek gave up the runs. Tyler Erwin pitched another scoreless inning to lower his ERA to 1.48.

Every Key except leadoff batter Cole Billingsley had exactly one base hit, though Billingsley drove in one run. The other RBI were credited to Chris Claire and T.J. Nichting.

Rome (Braves) 3, Delmarva Shorebirds 2

Cameron Bishop started for the Shorebirds and gave up all three runs in his five innings of work. Despite taking the loss, the southpaw still owns an impressive 2.96 ERA. He’s only struck out 94 batters in 121.2 innings, but his WHIP is 1.03. His ERA is 2.47 over his last ten starts. Nick Gruener pitched four scoreless innings in relief.

Both of Delmarva’s runs were driven in by Brandon Becker in the eighth to pull the Shorebirds within one run. Mason McCoy and Zach Jarrett each collected two hits, including a double. Jean Carlos Encarnacion went 0-4.

Aberdeen IronBirds 1, Connecticut (Tigers) 0 in 7 innings

Game one of this doubleheader was the continuation of a game that was suspended on July 22 and picked up in the bottom of the third. Gray Fenter was credited with seven shutout innings in the box score, so he apparently pitched on both days. He allowed only three hits and one walk while striking out four. The victory ran his record to 3-2, though he had to wait nearly a month to finish it.

The IronBirds managed only four hits, but Fenter needed only one run to win. The RBI was provided by Robert Neustrom.

Aberdeen IronBirds 5, Connecticut 4 in 7 innings

Aberdeen scored four runs in the second inning and withstood a Tigers rally to sweep the doubleheader and the series. The second inning runs came courtesy of a Bryndan Arredondo grand slam. Jaylen Ferguson plated a run later in the game. Adam Hall collected two of Aberdeen’s five hits.

Willie Rios started and gave up three runs in four innings. Kevin Magee picked up the win in relief, pitching two innings of perfect baseball and striking out three. Ryan Conroy nailed down his sixth save of the season despite allowing a run.

Complete box scores from these games can be found here.

Monday’s scheduled games:

Bowie at Richmond, 6:35. Starter: TBD

Delmarva vs. Rome, 7:05. Starter: Brandon Bonilla

Aberdeen at Vermont, 7:05. Starter: TBD