Orioles minors recap 8/5: One awful inning sinks Dillon Tate

Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 10, Norfolk Tides 6

Although the Tides bashed three home runs — by Chance Sisco, Drew Dosch, and Pedro Alvarez — it wasn’t enough to overcome a disastrous outing by John Means, who was torched for eight runs in 1.2 innings. Only three of the runs were earned, but that was because of Means’ own error on a bunt, so he can’t really point fingers. The extra out kept the Stripers alive in the second, and Carlos Franco blasted a grand slam to cap a seven-run inning.

In relief, Stacey’s cousin Lucas Long (not actually Stacey’s cousin) and Tim Melville combined for 5.1 scoreless innings, but the damage had already been done. Among notable Tides outfielders, Cedric Mullins went 1-for-4 with a walk and DJ Stewart was 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.

Reading Fightin Phils (Phillies) 7, Bowie Baysox 4

Boy, that escalated quickly for starter Dillon Tate. Through five innings, he was breezing along with a shutout, retiring 14 of the 18 batters he faced (including nine on groundouts). But he completely self-destructed in the sixth, coughing up five runs on six hits.

A trio of singles plated Reading’s first run, and then Jose Pujols and Jan Hernandez blasted back-to-back homers. That left Tate’s final line at six innings, five runs, and nine hits. When the Orioles acquired him as the headliner of the Zach Britton deal, some scouts said he might ultimately be a reliever rather than a starter in the bigs. An outing like this doesn’t exactly contradict that view.

As for some other prospects acquired in the Orioles’ recent trades, Yusniel Diaz and Rylan Bannon (from the Manny Machado deal) each reached base twice, while catcher Brett Cumberland (from the Kevin Gausman/Darren O’Day deal) was 0-for-3 with a walk in his Baysox debut. Among homegrown prospects, Ryan Mountcastle was 0-for-4 with a walk and Ryan McKenna didn’t play.

Frederick Keys 2, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals) 1 — Game 1

The first game of the Keys’ doubleheader was only scheduled to go seven innings, but they had to go to the eighth to settle a one-all tie. Wilson Garcia’s RBI double plated the Keys’ free baserunner in the top of the eighth, and closer Tyler Erwin pitched a scoreless bottom half to finish it.

Zac Lowther pitched a gem for Frederick, striking out nine batters in six innings and allowing just one run. Lowther now has a 2.23 ERA in 18 starts across two minor league levels this season. On the hitting side, Preston Palmeiro collected three hits and an RBI.

Wilmington 4, Frederick 2 — Game 2

Wilmington earned a split of the twin bill by tagging Frederick starter Cristian Alvarado for four runs in five innings. It was a quiet night offensively for the Keys, who managed just five hits, with no batter getting more than one.

That’s really all there is to say about the Keys, who don’t have a ton of intriguing prospects when Lowther, Alex Wells, or Michael Baumann isn’t pitching. They’re the only affiliate that didn’t receive any new players from the Orioles’ slew of recent trades.

Delmarva Shorebirds 6, Charleston RiverDogs (Yankees) 5 — 10 innings

The Shorebirds won this game in dramatic fashion, scoring two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie and walking off with the win in the 10th on Seamus Curran’s RBI single. It capped a big night for Curran, who earlier hit a two-run homer, his 12th.

Jean Carlos Encarnacion, the 20-year-old third baseman acquired in the Gausman deal, ripped a double and a triple. He’s 4-for-9 with three extra-base hits in his first two games in the Orioles’ organization. Shortstop Cadyn Grenier, the Orioles’ second pick in the 2018 draft, was 0-for-2 but drew two walks, including one that started the ninth-inning rally. Starting pitcher Luis Perez delivered a quality start, giving up two runs in 6.1 innings.

Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 4, Aberdeen Ironbirds 3

All the scoring in this game happened in the fifth inning or later, but the Ironbirds came up a run short. Kevin Magee took the loss in relief after a quality start by Matthew Hammonds (six innings, three runs).

Jean Carmona, acquired in the Jonathan Schoop trade, wasn’t in the lineup. But Austin Hays was, continuing his rehab assignment, and went 2-for-4 with a run scored. J.C. Escarra was also 2-for-4 with a homer. Shortstop Adam Hall was 1-for-3.

Complete box scores can be found here.

Sunday’s scheduled games:

• Norfolk at Gwinnett, 1:05 PM. Starter: Luis Ortiz (Orioles’ organizational debut)
• Bowie vs. Reading, 1:35 PM. Starter: Luis Ysla (5-4, 4.32)
• Frederick at Wilmington, 1:35 PM. Starter: Alex Wells (4-7, 3.93)
• Delmarva vs. Charleston, 5:05 PM. Starter: Brenan Hanifee (7-5, 2.89)
• Aberdeen vs. Staten Island, 4:05 PM. Starter: TBD