Orioles minor league recap 8/31: Chandler Shepherd tosses a gem in Norfolk win

Norfolk Tides 2, Charlotte Knights 0

The Tides pulled off a shutout, thanks largely to a spectacular start by Chandler Shepherd. The young right-hander spun eight scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and three walks with three strikeouts. Branden Kline pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his second save of the season.

At the plate, left-fielder Ryan Mountcastle went 1-for-3 with a walk, improving his slash line to .309/.341/.530 in 508 at-bats. Shortstop Jose Rondon was 1-for-3 with an RBI double in the second inning. Norfolk’s other run scored on a passed ball by the Knights’ catcher in the eighth.

Mark Trumbo was hitless in four at-bats with a strikeout and Dwight Smith Jr. was 1-for-3 with a walk. It’s probably a safe bet that we’ll see Smith Jr. back in Baltimore once rosters expand and who knows, maybe even Trumbo.

Bowie Baysox 5, Richmond Flying Squirrels 3

Starter Tyler Herb had a strong outing in a winning effort for Bowie on Friday night. He allowed three runs (two earned) in six innings with seven hits, one walk and six strikeouts. But it was Luis Gonzalez who swooped in and earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings in relief. Then Cristian Alvarado pitched 1.1 innings for his 13th save of the season.

Bowie was trailing 3-1 until the late innings, when they scored one in the seventh and three in the eighth to take the lead. Cedric Mullins was 1-for-4 with two runs scored, a walk and his fifth home run of the season. He’s now slashing .267/.336/.403 in 49 games with Bowie. Jesmuel Valenin was 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Preston Palmeiro went 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBI.

Potomac Nationals 8, Frederick Keys 1

Keys’ starter David Lebron turned in a losing effort last night, lowering his record to 2-6. He allowed four runs over 4.2 innings while scattering nine hits. But on the plus side, he did strike out five batters without allowing any walks.

Frederick’s offense was only able to scratch across a single run in the fourth on a Chris Clare singe to center that scored Will Robertson. The team was 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left six on base. Ben Breazeale went 2-for-4 while Sean Miller, Irving Ortega and Clare were the only other players in the lineup with a hit.

Kannapolis Intimidators 4, Delmarva Shorebirds 3

First things first: Adley Rutschman went 1-for-3 at the dish with a strikeout and a run scored. He’s now hitting .121/.211/.242 at Delmarva, although it’s been only 10 games.

There wasn’t much offense around the young catcher either, with the Shorebirds scoring all three of their runs in the fourth inning. Johnny Rizer had an RBI single to drive home Rutschman, Shayne Fontana had an RBI triple, and Ryne Ogren had an RBI single as well.

Delmarva was undone by a Kannapolis grand slam in the top of the sixth off of starter Ryan Wilson. The left-hander’s final pitching line included nine hits, four runs and three walks allowed in 5.2 innings to go along with six punchouts.

Aberdeen Ironbirds 5, Brooklyn Cyclones 4

Ironbirds’ starter Leonardo Rodriguez may have given up three runs, but they were all unearned. He also scattered four hits and three walks over four innings while striking out three. All three runs scored in the third on a bases loaded double after a throwing error by shortstop Joseph Ortiz prolonged the inning.

At the plate, Aberdeen was powered by a trio of home runs, including Kyle Stowers sixth of the year, Clay Fisher’s third and Jaylen Ferguson’s sixth. Stowers was 2-for-5 on the night, bringing his slash line to .221/.297/.385 in 195 at-bats. Ferguson was 3-for-5, bringing his batting line to .283/.358/.683 in 60 at-bats with Aberdeen.

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

Saturday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk vs. Charlotte, 7:05 PM ET. Starter: Bruce Zimmermann (2-2, 4.41 ERA)
• Bowie at Richmond, 6:05 PM ET. Starter: Cody Sedlock (1-2, 4.20 ERA)
• Frederick vs. Potomac, Game 1, 4:00 PM ET. Starter: Luis Perez (6-1, 2.97 ERA)
• Frederick vs. Potomac, Game 2. Starter: Cameron Bishop (2-9, 4.56 ERA)
• Delmarva vs Kannapolis, 7:05 PM ET. Starter: Hector Guance (8-6, 4.50 ERA)
• Aberdeen at Hudson Valley, 6:05 PM ET. Starter: TBD