Orioles minor league recap 7/6: Zac Lowther continues his stellar 2019 campaign

Norfolk Tides 2, Charlotte Knights 0 (Suspended)

The Tides only made it into the bottom of the first inning before their game was suspended. It’s scheduled to be completed today, July 6. Norfolk’s Mason Williams had a two-run homer in the first, his 11th of the year, before play was suspended in the bottom half of the inning with two Knights on base and no outs against Keegan Akin.

Bowie Baysox 8, Harrisburg Senators 5

The Baysox totaled a whopping 16 hits as a team on Friday night en route to scoring eight runs. They went 6-for-19 with runners in scoring position. Shortstop Mason McCoy was 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, leaving his batting average at .322. DJ Stewart, appearing as the designated hitter in the number two hole, went 2-for-4 with a run, a walk and an RBI. Preston Palmeiro had three hits, Cole Billingsley had two and catcher Carlos Perez was 3-for-5 with his sixth home run of the year.

Left-hander Zac Lowther allowed three runs in five innings with five hits, four walks and five strikeouts. He improved his record to 9-5 and his ERA stands at 2.64. Lowther is having a very impressive 2019 campaign, including his last 10 starts, over which time he has gone 7-2 with a 2.59 ERA.

Carolina Mudcats 6, Frederick Keys 5

In a makeup of their July 4 postponement, the Keys lost a close one to the Mudcats in seven innings. Frederick was in danger of being shutout until the top of the seventh when they exploded for five runs but fell one short of tying things up. There were three run-scoring singles and a wild pitch responsible for the barrage of runs.

Right fielder Trevor Craport was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base. Ryan Ripken was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Robbie Thorburn was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Ripken is now hitting .277 with a .749 OPS.

On the mound, Keys’ starter Blaine Knight was responsible for all six of the Mudcats’ runs, which raised his ERA to 6.39. He allowed two walks and five strikeouts in 4.1 innings along with five hits, including two home runs.

Carolina Mudcats 2, Frederick Keys 0

In Frederick’s second game of the night, they were shutout by a score of 2-0. Carolina scored two runs in the first inning off of Keys’ starter David Lebron, and that was all they would need for the rest of the game.

Frederick had very few chances to score in this one, as evidenced by their 0-for-1 mark when batting with runners in scoring position. They left five men on base. Second baseman Patrick Dorrian was one of the few offensive bright spots in the game for the Keys, going 3-for-3 at the dish. There were only two other hits for the Keys all night — one by Robbie Thorburn and one by Jomar Reyes.

Delmarva Shorebirds 4, Hagerstown Suns 2

The Shorebirds overcame three errors and two unearned runs to barely edge out the Suns on Friday night. The winning pitcher Nick Vespi struck out seven batters in five innings with just one walk and three hits allowed. He did not allow a single run, lowering his ERA to 3.31. Tyler Joyner worked three three innings and allowed one unearned run after Vespi. Then Reed Hayes got the save after allowing an unearned run in the ninth.

At the plate, number nine hitter Ryne Ogren was 1-for-3 with a two-run triple in the fifth and shortstop Adam Hall drove in Ogren in the same inning with a sacrifice fly. Delmarva added an insurance run in the seventh when Nick Horvath scored on a wild pitch.

Aberdeen Ironbirds 5, Brooklyn Cyclones 2

The Ironbirds game ended after five innings because of fog with the good guys ahead 5-2. Ryan Conroy got the win for Aberdeen, allowing two runs in five innings on five hits, one walk and four strikeouts. His ERA is an even 3.00 on the year.

The number eight and nine hitters in the Aberdeen lineup were highly productive, combing for four hits in four trips to the plate total. Shortstop Clay Fisher was 2-for-2 with two runs and an RBI and first baseman Juan Montes was 2-for-2 with a run scored. Austin Hays was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while hitting out of the number three hole as the designated hitter.

Complete box scores from Friday night’s games can be found here.

Saturday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk at Charlotte, 7:04 PM ET. Starter: Tyler Herb (4-6, 6.83 ERA)
• Norfolk at Charlotte (completion of Friday night’s suspended game)
• Bowie vs. Harrisburg, 6:35 PM ET. Starter: Alex Wells (6-1, 2.05 ERA)
• Frederick at Carolina, 6:00 PM ET. Starter: Cody Sedlock (4-0, 1.89 ERA)
• Delmarva vs. Hagerstown, 7:05 PM ET. Starter: Gray Fenter (6-1, 1.87 ERA)
• Aberdeen at Brooklyn, 4:00 PM ET. Starter: TBD