Orioles minor league recap 5/30: Only the IronBirds got to play, but play well they did

Hey, you can’t lose when you don’t play, right? Actually, that’s more appropriate for the big-league club right now; Orioles affiliates other than Norfolk are all having terrific seasons.

Inclement weather washed out all the Orioles minor league affiliates’ games on Saturday but one: the Aberdeen IronBirds handily beat the Brooklyn Cyclones on the road, 4-1.

Aberdeen IronBirds 4, Brooklyn Cyclones 1

The Orioles’ No. 27 prospect, the righty Garrett Stallings, picked up in the José Iglesias deal in December 2020, threw a tidy five innings with five strikeouts. Stallings allowed just four hits and one walk, the lone run coming on a solo home run in the fourth. Over five starts this season, Stallings has had one bad outing (seven runs allowed over 2.1 innings), but he’s gone five innings with three runs or fewer in all the rest. Here is Stallings flashing some nice stuff:

Meanwhile, IronBirds hitters put up a well-balanced attack on offense. Four different hitters had an RBI, and everybody but Adam Hall reached base. Kyle Stowers singled in a run in the third on a 1-for-5 day. Catcher Maverick Handley plated the Birds’ second run on a groundout and also walked. Second baseman Andrew Martinez homered, and DH AJ Graffanino singled home the IronBirds’ fourth run in the eighth inning. There was to be no RBI for outfielder Johnny Rizer, but nobody should be upset at his 2-for-3 line and two walks on the day. The IronBirds are a dominant 15-7 on the season.

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

Sunday’s scheduled games

• Norfolk vs. Charlotte, 1:05 PM. Starter: Kyle Bradish (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
• Bowie vs. Harrisburg, Game 1, 12:35 PM. Starter: TBD
• Bowie vs. Harrisburg, Game 2, Starter: TBD
• Aberdeen at Brooklyn, 1:00 PM. Starter: TBD
• Delmarva vs. Lynchburg, 2:05 PM. Starter: Ignacio Feliz (1-0, 1.54 ERA)