Orioles minor league recap 5/20: Bowie’s Bradish can’t be stopped

Triple-A: Jacksonville (Marlins) Jumbo Shrimp 5, Norfolk Tides 2

Zac Lowther’s tough start to the season continued here as the lefty lasted just 2.1 innings while allowing five runs on seven hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. His Triple-A ERA is up to 9.45 on the year. On the bright side, Konner Wade was brilliant out of the pen, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings despite just one strikeout. Marcos Diplán was similarly effective, striking out four batters in his two shutout frames.

Mason McCoy and Tyler Nevin had the lion’s share of the Norfolk offense, each of them registering a double and a single. McCoy added a walk as well. Brett Cumberland went 1-for-3 with a single and a walk. Rylan Bannon wound up 1-for-4.

Away from the diamond, Richie Martin was placed on the injured list, where he is expected to remain for 8-to-12 weeks as he recovered from a left wrist fracture. Zach Jarrett has been promoted from Double-A Bowie in his place.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 2, Richmond (Giants) Flying Squirrels 1

It was all about Kyle Bradish again. He tossed four more innings, and his ERA remains right where it started the season. The righty struck out 10 batters, walked one, and allowed just two hits. He was removed after just 69 pitches, which is the fewest he has thrown in a single outing all season, but it is in-line with the conservative approach the O’s have taken with their highly-coveted pitching prospects this season.

Diogenes Almengo took the win despite allowing the only run of the night in his inning of work. Fortunately, Cameron Bishop was great out of the ‘pen, tossing four shutout innings to earn the first save of his minor league career.

Bowie scored both of their runs in the first inning and then took the rest of the night off. Adley Rutschman was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Patrick Dorrian was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. J.C. Escarra and and Jean Carlos Encarnacion both went 1-for-3.

High-A: Wilmington (Nationals) Blue Rocks 5, Aberdeen IronBirds 4 - F/10

Aberdeen starter Drew Rom got knocked around a little bit here. The southpaw went just 2.2 innings and served up three runs (two earned) on four hits, a walk, and two strikeouts. He was backed up by a nice 3.1-inning, five-strikeout performance from Jake Prizinia in relief. Nick Roth delivered two scoreless innings, and then Felix Bautista didn’t give up any earned runs in his two frames either, but took the loss because he allowed the extra-innings runner at second to score on his watch.

Kyle Stowers went deep for the second time this season and doubled as he had a 2-for-4 night with two RBI and a walk. Joey Ortiz and Johnny Rizer were both 1-for-5. Toby Welk singled and walked. Adam Hall had a 1-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 11, Carolina (Brewers) Mudcats 3

These Shorebirds sure can swing the bats. Their 11 runs came on 10 hits and 11 (!!!) walks. J.D. Mundy drove in four runs as he went 2-for-5 with a home run. Gunnar Henderson had a dong of his own to go along with his two walks in a 2-for-3 showing. Neither Dylan Harris nor Anthony Servideo managed a hit, but they combined for six walks. Jordan Westburg was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Hudson Haskin went 1-for-4 at the plate and 2-for-3 in stolen base attempts.

Things were less exciting on the mound, where no big-name prospects appeared for Delmarva on this night. But the guys that did pitch were effective. Ryan Watson struck out four over two innings. Shane Davis earned the win in his four innings and struck out six, although he did give up three runs. Ryan Conroy earned his first save with three scoreless innings and three strikeouts to wrap up yet another win for the O’s Low-A affiliate.

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

Thursday’s scheduled games

• Norfolk: vs Jacksonville, 12:05. Starter: Alexander Wells (0-2, 14.29 ERA)
• Bowie: at Reading, 6:35. Starter: Kevin Smith (0-0, 2.16 ERA)
• Aberdeen: vs Wilmington, 7:05. Starter: TBD
• Delmarva: vs Carolina, 7:05. Starter: Mike Baumann (0-0, 0.00 ERA)