Orioles minors recap 8/8: In which many people did not pitch well

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees) 10, Norfolk Tides 8

Cedric Mullins was a late scratch from the Tides lineup, but don’t get excited. He was apparently under the weather. Norfolk faced an early hole thanks to starting pitcher Jimmy Yacabonis giving up three runs in 1.1 innings. He was pulled up short because he’s been tabbed as a possible pitcher for Saturday’s doubleheader against the Red Sox.

Although the Tides tried their best to come back with a five run rally in the eighth inning, their collection of pitchers just put them into too much of a hole here as they gave up the ten runs on 17 hits. Tough way to win there.

At the plate for Norfolk, leadoff man Mike Yastrzemski had three hits, coming a home run short of the cycle, and scored a run each time he was on base. Mullins deservedly gets a lot of the attention, but it may be that Yastrzemski has earned a look in the early days of this rebuild project with his .812 OPS in 65 games for the Tides. That includes a .379 OBP, which went up in this game.

New Hampshire (Blue Jays) 8, Bowie Baysox 3

Starting pitcher Brian Gonzalez was blown up for seven runs in 5.2 innings. Among the ten hits he surrendered were a pair of solo home runs. This has not been an unusual occurrence for Gonzalez, the first O’s pick (third round) in the “lost draft” of 2014, who has a 7.01 ERA with the Baysox this year. The thing about prospects is that sometimes they hit their ceiling and that ceiling is not “be good in MLB.”

Craig Gentry appeared in this game on a rehab assignment, going 1-2 with a walk. Few things excite me less than the idea of Gentry returning to the MLB team. The Baysox only had seven hits total. Ryan Mountcastle drove in a pair of runs in a 1-3 effort. Recently-acquired outfielder Yusniel Diaz was 0-3 with a walk, now batting .192 since joining the O’s organization. Another newbie, Rylan Bannon, was 0-4, now batting .154.

Potomac (Walgreens) 11, Frederick Keys 0

The P-Nats got the better of the Keys on this occasion, we must concede. Starting pitcher Michael Baumann was lit up for eight runs, seven earned, in just 3.2 innings. Baumann allowed nine hits and five walks while striking out just three batters. That elevates Baumann’s ERA for the season to 4.04. Not as bad as the Gonzalez example above, but enough to start thinking about that ceiling.

Keys batters had just six hits. Jomar Reyes and T.J. Nichting each had multi-hit games, and Preston Palmeiro, son of Rafael, was 1-4 with a double.

Delmarva Shorebirds 11, Rome (Braves) 3

At least one Orioles affiliate ended up on the right end of a lopsided contest. The Shorebirds scored their 11 runs on 11 hits, helped along by 6-10 batting with runners in scoring position. Good stuff.

Jean Carlos Encarnacion, received from the Braves in the Kevin Gausman deal, had a great game against his former team, with a 3-5 night. Ryan Ripken, nephew of Billy, and NASCAR scion Zach Jarrett also had multi-hit games for Delmarva. Possible shortstop of the future Cadyn Grenier was 1-5 with a double, now batting .182/.287/.295 since getting drafted two months ago. Kirvin Moesquit stole his 41st (really!) base.

Staten Island (Yankees) 11, Aberdeen IronBirds 0

Geez.

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

Wednesday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 7:05. Starter: Josh Rogers
• Bowie: vs. New Hampshire, 7:05. Starter: Keegan Akin
• Frederick: at Potomac, 7:05. Starter: Matthias Dietz
• Delmarva: at Rome, 7:00. Starter: Brandon Bonilla
• Aberdeen: vs. Vermont, 7:05. Starter: TBD