Orioles minor league recap 5/15: Jordan Westburg provides the offense in Delmarva

Triple-A: Charlotte Knights 5, Norfolk Tides 1

Norfolk’s offense was held in check Friday night, mustering only four hits in total. One of those hits included a solo home run from right fielder Tyler Nevin, who was acquired from the Rockies last summer as part of the Mychal Givens trade. Nevin may be hitting .211 on the season in 38 at-bats, but his slugging percentage stands at .526, due in part to his four home runs. Catcher Brett Cumberland, part of the 2018 Kevin Gausman trade return from the Braves, went 1-for-3 with a walk.

Zac Lowther got the start for Norfolk and had to muddle through his night on the mound. While he managed to keep the ball in the park, he did surrender three walks and gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits over 4.1 innings. His Triple-A ERA stands at 4.15.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 11, Reading Fightin Phils 5

Bowie had a field day against the Fightin Phils on Friday, hitting double digits with their run total. The O’s Double-A affiliate was paced by home runs from Patrick Dorrian, J.C. Escarra, and Terrin Vavra. Those three players were responsible for driving in eight of Bowie’s 11 runs. Adley Rutschman had his second consecutive three-walk performance, along with a single, RBI, and two runs scored.

Cameron Bishop made the start for the Baysox and threw 69 pitches (49 strikes) over four innings. He allowed seven hits, one walk, two strikeouts, and three runs. The bullpen pitched five scoring innings behind him, and Bowie cruised to its sixth victory of the season.

High-A: Hudson Valley Renegades 9, Aberdeen IronBirds 4

Making his second start of the season for Aberdeen, Blaine Knight had an excellent showing against the Renegades. He allowed just one hit, with no walks and four strikeouts, over five shutout innings. The lean right-hander has an unblemished 0.00 ERA through nine innings pitched in 2021. Unfortunately, his strong performance did not result in an IronBirds win. The two relievers who followed Knight gave up a total of nine runs between the two of them.

Unfortunately, Aberdeen also committed three errors, two of the fielding variety and one of the throwing variety.

At the plate, right fielder Johnny Rizer hit his second home run of the year for the IronBirds, a solo shot in the fourth inning. The three other runs came courtesy of RBIs by AJ Graffanino, Toby Welk, and Andrew Martinez.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 6, Fredericksburg Nationals 1

The Delmarva pitching staff, led by starter Noah Denoyer, held Fredericksburg in check. Denoyer’s final pitching line was one earned run over four innings, with five hits (including one home run), one walk, and seven strikeouts. He has a sparkling 1.50 ERA on the year.

At the dish, Jordan Westburg continued his early-season tear, going 2-for-3 with his second home run of the year, a walk, and three RBI total. The Shorebirds were also active on the bases, as third baseman Darell Hernaiz swiped two bags and center fielder Mason Janvrin added one as well.

Complete box scores from Friday’s minor league matchups can be found here.

Saturday’s scheduled games

• Norfolk at Charlotte, 7:04 PM ET Starter: Alexander Wells
• Bowie vs. Reading, 6:35 PM ET. Starter: TBD
• Aberdeen at Hudson Valley, 6:05 PM ET. Starter: TBD
• Delmarva at Fredericksburg, 6:05 PM ET. Starter: Zach Peek