Orioles minor league recap 4/30: Mountcastle and Mullins deliver for Norfolk

Durham Bulls (Rays) 10, Norfolk Tides 6

Norfolk starter Keegan Akin allowed only one run through the first five innings, but things fell apart in the sixth. Akin failed to record an out in the sixth inning, and eventually exited with 5.0 innings, 4 hits, 3 runs, 5 walks and 4 strikeouts. Obviously the five walks jumps out right away.

Chris Lee replaced Akin and eventually took the loss. He only recorded one out, and surrendered five runs, three of which were earned.

The Bulls big inning came after Norfolk appeared to break things open. The Tides plated four runs in the top of the sixth to jump out to a 5-1 lead, but Durham responded with seven of its own. Akin may have been impacted by the long wait before returning to the mound.

The top of the order did the majority of the damage for the Tides. Cedric Mullins finished 3-5, while Anthony Santander and Ryan Mountcastle both recorded two hits. Mullins drove in Jack Reinheimer with an RBI triple in the sixth, and Mountcastle homered in the ninth.

Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants) 3, Bowie Baysox 2

Bowie dropped the contest, but it still received a quality start from Bruce Zimmermann. Zimmermann held Richmond to only one run over six strong innings. The 24-year-old Baltimore native scattered six hits and struck out two batters while walking just one. The only run he allowed came via a solo home run in the third inning.

Unfortunately, Pedro Araujo failed to pick up where Zimmermann left off. Araujo pitched the final three frames, and allowed lead-off home runs in the eight and ninth innings. He now holds an 0-1 record with a 4.66 ERA through 7 games with the Baysox.

Frederick Keys 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals) 2

Frederick pitchers blanked Wilmington through eight innings before allowing two runs in the ninth. Keys starter Brenan Hanifee tossed five scoreless while striking out four. Francisco Jimenez nearly finished the shutout, but could not escape the ninth inning. Diogenes Almengo came in to shut the door and notched his first save.

Jake Ring got things started with a solo home run in the second inning. The Keys manufactured their next three runs with RBI singles. Trevor Craport added an exclamation point with a solo shot in the seventh. Brewer Hicklen and Cristian Perez were the only two Wilmington players with two hits.

Box scores for yesterday’s games can be found here.

Tuesday’s scheduled games:

Norfolk at Durham, 10:35 am. Starter: TBD

Bowie vs. Richmond, 11:05 am. Starter: Marcos Molina

Frederick vs. Wilmington, 7:00 pm. Starter: Michael Baumann

Delmarva at Columia, 7:05. Starer: Ofelky Peralta