Orioles minor league recap 4/13: Rodriguez and Akin put on masterful pitching performances

Norfolk Tides 6, Toledo Mud Hens 5

The Tides went into the ninth inning with a 6-2 lead on Friday night but held onto the win even though reliever Luis Gonzalez allowed three runs in that the frame. Left-hander Keegan Akin was on point for Norfolk on Friday night, striking out 10 batters over six innings with zero walks. He allowed two runs on four hits but was unable to secure the win, which went to Matt Wotherspoon instead, who pitched two scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts. In nine innings pitched this season, Akin has a 3.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with three walks and 13 strikeouts.

DJ Stewart led the Tides on offense, going 3-for-3 with a run scored, a walk, a stolen base and a two run home-run. Through 26 at-bats so far this season, Stewart has a .308/.455/.615 batting line and he’s hit safely in six straight games now. Chance Sisco went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, Anthony Santander went 1-for-4, and Ryan Mountcastle went 0-for-4 with five men left on base.

Harrisburg Senators 4, Bowie Baysox 2

The Baysox scratched across a run in each of the first two innings to get out to an early lead. In the first, Yusniel Diaz tripled and was driven home by Martin Cervenka. Then in the second, Ademar Rifaela doubled and scored on a Chris Clare single. On the night, Diaz was 2-for-5, Cervenka was 2-for-4 with one RBI, Rylan Bannon was 1-for-5, and Ryan McKenna was 1-for-4 with a walk.

Things were going fine for Baysox starter Hunter Harvey through 2.1 innings. But in the top of the third, after loading the bases on a single and a couple walks, Harvey allowed a grand slam that gave Harrisburg a lead that would last the rest of the game.

Harvey’s final pitching line was four innings, three hits, four earned runs, three walks, six strikeouts and one home run. His ERA on the year is now 8.31. Another interesting note, Pedro Araujo pitched a perfect inning of relief, lowering his Bowie ERA to 27.00.

Delmarva Shorebirds 5, Lakewood BlueClaws 3

Grayson Rodriguez was dominant in his second start for the Shorebirds. He earned the win by pitching six shutout innings and striking out 10 batters while only allowing one hit and three walks. He has yet to allow a run through 11 innings pitched in 2019. His WHIP is a minuscule 0.73 and he’s got 20 strikeouts versus five walks.

The Shorebirds got out to an early lead in this one with two in the first and one in second. That was all the scoring that would occur between both teams until the seventh, when Delmarva tacked on two more runs to lengthen their lead to five. But they nearly gave it all away in the late innings, allowing two runs to the BlueClaws in the eighth and one in the ninth.

Three Delmarva batters had a three-hit game: Cadyn Grenier, Robert Neustrom and Adam Hall. Those three are now hitting .231, .379 and .321 on the year, respectively. Hall had two RBI, Neustrom had one and catcher Daniel Fajardo had two as well.

Frederick Keys at Salem Red Sox: Postponed due to wet grounds

You can view all of Friday’s minor league box scores here.

Saturday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk vs. Toledo, 7:05 PM ET. Starter: Sean Gilmartin (0-1, 3.00 ERA)
• Bowie vs. Harrisburg, 1:35 PM ET. Starter: Dillon Tate (0-1, 6.75 ERA)
• Frederick at Salem, Game 1, 5:05 PM ET. Starter: DL Hall (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
• Frederick at Salem, Game 2. Starter: David Lebron (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
• Delmarva vs. Lakewood, 7:05 PM ET. Starter: Drew Rom (0-0, 0.00 ERA)