Orioles minor league recap 6/12: Zac Lowther and Conner Greene combine for a Triple-A shutout

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 8, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) 0

The Orioles Triple-A affiliate was firing on all cylinders last night with more than enough hitting to back up a dominant pitching tandem. In his fourth appearance this season with the Tides, starter Zac Lowther pitched four scoreless innings, allowing three hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. Conner Greene preserved the shutout in relief of Lowther by throwing five scoreless innings on the back end.

The Tides were clogging up the basepaths all night long with nine hits and seven walks as a team. And while they scored eight total runs, the Tides still managed to strand nine runners on base. Third baseman Domingo Leyba went 3-for-5 with four RBI and a three-run home run. He’s carrying a triple-slash line of .412/.444/.941. Batting second and playing left field, Jahmai Jones went 1-for-4 with two RBI, a walk, and a stolen base. Finishing things off, right fielder and no. 9 hitter Zach Jarrett had three hits to boost an impressive .304/.400/.482 batting line.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets) 5, Bowie Baysox 4

The Baysox were leading the Rumble Ponies by three runs heading into the bottom of the ninth last night when things fell apart. Blaine Knight had another strong outing for Bowie and lowered his ERA to 2.45 in the process by pitching five innings of one-run ball that included seven strikeouts and zero walks. But Tim Naughton gave up a three-run homer in the ninth and then allowed a single before leaving the game. Tyler Erwin entered and surrendered a pair of singles and the go-ahead run, even though Naughton was charged with all four runs in the inning and the loss.

Adley Rutschman, no. 35 in the scorecard and no. 1 in your hearts, went 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. He’s got a .293 batting average and a 1.008 OPS this year with the Baysox. Left fielder Robert Neustrom contributed a two-run single in the top of the eighth and shortstop Cadyn Grenier was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a pair of walks. Don’t look now, but the defense-first shortstop is batting a solid .294/.376/.451.

High-A: Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays) 5, Aberdeen IronBirds 3

Aberdeen got out to an early lead with three runs in the top of the first, but the score was tied by the bottom of the second and the IronBirds never got the lead back. It was a pair of home runs that gave Aberdeen a short-lived advantage, including a two-run shot by Kyle Stowers and a solo homer by Zach Watson. Jordan Westburg scored on Stowers’ home run after reaching base on a single in the first. Adam Hall had a single in the second inning, but the IronBirds were held hitless from that point on.

On the pitching side, Aberdeen’s Garrett Stallings took the loss, which was his third of the season. Stallings allowed seven hits and four runs over 4.2 innings, causing his ERA to climb to 5.29 on the year. In relief, Clayton McGinness allowed an unearned in 1.1 innings of work and Felix Bautista pitched two scoreless innings.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds at Lynchburg Hillcats - Doubleheader Postponed

Makeup on June 12 and June 30

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

Saturday’s scheduled games

• Norfolk at Jacksonville, 6:35 PM. Starter: Kyle Bradish (1-0, 2.03 ERA)
• Bowie at Binghamton, 6:35 PM. Starter: DL Hall (2-0, 2.67 ERA)
• Aberdeen at Bowling Green, 7:35 PM. Starter: TBD
• Delmarva at Lynchburg, Game 1, 4:00 PM. Starter: TBD.
• Delmarva at Lynchburg, Game 2. Starter: TBD.