Orioles minor league recap 7/1: A great day all-around for Norfolk, Frederick, and Delmarva

Charlotte (White Sox) 1, Norfolk Tides 6

It was a great day for Norfolk pitching, as Keegan Akin (4-2, 4.20 ERA, 89 SO) gave up just two hits and one run in five innings. Hunter Harvey, in his first Triple-A appearance, pitched two scoreless innings with a strikeout and no walks—and he hit 99 mph. So maybe this relief thing is working out for him. Jay Flaa (1-3, 4.10 ERA) closed it out with two scoreless innings.

The Tides had a lot of good performances with the lumber, too. The Knights jumped out to a one-run lead when one-time Oriole Alcides Escobar was knocked home on a double in the first. But it didn’t last, as Austin Wynns and Ryan Mountcastle each went deep in the third to put the Tides ahead for good. Jesús Sucre (2-for-4) added an RBI single in the fourth, Cedric Mullins (0-for-4, 1 BB) stole home in the fourth, and Wynns and Jace Peterson drove in runs five and six in the seventh. Wynns (.261/.770 OPS) had a scorching 4-for-4 day (methinks the Rutschman signing has lit a fire under his ass), Mason Williams has hit in seven of his last eight games and is sitting at .280/.799 OPS, and Jack Reinheimer went 1-for-4 to go along with this insane throw:

Akron (Indians) 5, Bowie Baysox 0

Bowie hitters were simply dominated by the RubberDucks’ Adam Scott (5.2 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 7 SO, 2.95 ERA) and Jared Robinson (3.1 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 SO). Mason McCoy was 0-for-2 with two walks. Ryan McKenna hit a single and Rylan Bannon had a double. That’s about all that there is to report.

Unfortunately, Sunday was a step backward for the talented lefty Zac Lowther, who allowed five runs over five hits, including a homer and four RBI doubles. Lowther is still 8-5 with a 2.46 ERA, so don’t feel too bad for him, though. Pedro Araujo went three scoreless with two hits and no walks, and Tyler Erwin pitched a one-hit ninth.

Fun fact: the Bowie bullpen has allowed one ER over its last 28 1/3 innings.

Wilmington (Royals) 3, Frederick Keys 5

The Keys got all five of their runs via the long ball: a Trevor Craport grand salami in the third and a J.C. Escarra (.262/.756 OPS) solo homer in the fifth. Robbie Thorburn, recently promoted from Delmarva, went 2-for-4 and is sitting pretty at .324 in High-A ball so far. NASCAR scion Zach Jarrett is .299/.767 OPS on the season, and Ryan Ripken is hitting a respectable .268/.748.

In his first start since May 25, Cody Sedlock was held to 68 pitches over four innings, during which he gave up no runs on three hits and three walks. Sedlock has been sidelined by injuries, but his 4-0 record and 1.89 ERA with the Keys this season is encouraging. Diogenes Almengo, Scott Burke, and Tim Naughton closed out the game with a combined three runs between them.

Delmarva Shorebirds 7, Hagerstown (Washington) 3

Drew Rom was shaky, allowing eight hits and three walks in 4.2 innings, but just two runs. His line remains impressive: 5-1 with a 1.65 ERA and 72 strikeouts. Gray Fenter (6-1, 1.87 ERA) earned the win with 3.1 innings of one-run relief. Reed Hayes, recently up from Aberdeen, pitched a scoreless ninth.

Delmarva climbed their way out of a 2-0 hole on a wild pitch in the sixth inning and a Robert Neustrom sac fly in the seventh, then exploded for five runs in the eighth. Adam Hall (1-for-3, BB, RBI) and Neustrom (1-for-3, 3 RBIs) hit RBI singles ahead of Cadyn Grenier (2-for-3, 2 RBIs), who launched a two-run home run off Suns’ reliever Chandler Day. Hall finished the day with a .319 average, Neustrom is hitting .280, and Grenier is at .262.

Aberdeen Ironbirds 3, Tri-City (Astros) 5

A Round 8 selection in the 2018 draft, starter Ryan Conroy (1-2, 2.84 ERA) got roughed up for 11 hits over four innings—so four runs allowed could have been far worse (and would have been without an outfield assist by Trey Truitt to catch a runner at home in the third). Morgan McSweeney, selected in Round 17 last year, allowed a run on two hits in two innings, and Kyle Martin, picked up last year in Round 15, pitched two scoreless.

The Ironbirds scored one on an error, and two on an Alex Murphy single in the fifth. CF Johnny Rizer went 1-for-5, 3B Toby Welk 2-for-4 with a double, Luke Ringhofer 1-for-3 with a double, and Murphy 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

Complete box scores from Thursday’s set of games can be found here.

Monday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: vs Gwinnett (Braves), 7:05 p.m. Starter: Luis Ortiz (2-7, 6.75 ERA)
• Bowie: at Hartford (Rockies), 7:05 p.m. Starter: Alex Wells (5-1, 1.97 ERA)
• Frederick: vs Lynchburg (Indians), 7 p.m. Starter: TBD
• Delmarva: at Lakewood (Phillies), 7:05 p.m. Starter: Grayson Rodriguez (7-1, 2.21 ERA)
• Aberdeen: vs Connecticut (Tigers), 7:05 p.m. Starter: TBD