Orioles minor league recap 6/3: Grayson Rodriguez dazzles in Double-A debut

Triple-A: Durham (Rays) Bulls 11, Norfolk Tides 2

Norfolk was the lone O’s affiliate to lose on Wednesday. It was an especially tough day for their pitching staff, which surrendered 11 runs (10 earned) on 12 hits, six walks, and just four strikeouts.

Konner Wade started and had trouble missing bats. In 3+ innings, the righty served up six runs on six hits, two walks and one strikeout. He was replaced on the mound by Travis Lakins Sr. who would not fare much better. He tossed just one inning will giving up two runs on two hits, a walk, and a strikeout. Mickey Jannis continued the poor pitching with three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk over two frames. Thankfully, Cody Carroll and Manny Barreda wrapped things up with a scoreless inning apiece.

There wasn’t much better news on the offensive side of things for the Tides. Mason McCoy’s double was their only extra base hit. Tyler Nevin went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI in his return to Triple-A following a recent demotion. On a similar note, Chance Sisco took an 0-for-2 with two walks, but also struck out and made a throwing error in the field.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 2, Hartford (Rockies) Yard Goats 1

Grayson Rodriguez is a Double-A pitcher now, but he proved on Wednesday that he can dominate in the same way that he did at his previous level. In his Bowie debut, Rodriguez allowed just one run on four hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts over five innings to get the win. Reports indicate he was touching 100 mph with his fastball and looked as nasty as expected. Not to be outdone, Kevin Smith followed Rodriguez in relief and delivered four scoreless frames while striking out seven. His season ERA sits at 0.86.

Bowie’s bats were led by Jaylen Ferguson, who went 2-for-4 with a double and his fifth stolen base on the year. Terrin Vavra added two hits and an RBI from the leadoff spot, while Joey Ortiz knocked in a run on one hit right behind him. Adley Rutschman went 1-for-4, was thrown out trying to steal second base, and had a passed ball behind the plate.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 4, Hickory (Rangers) Crawdads 3

Drew Rom turned in a solid start for Aberdeen, striking out nine hitters over five innings while allowing two runs on four hits, and no walks. Garrett Farmer allowed one run in his two innings of work, whereas Jonathan Pendergast and Easton Lucas both added a scoreless inning each. Lucas took the win.

Shayne Fontana had the biggest day for Aberdeen’s offense. He went 2-for-4 at the top of the order, including his first home run of the year. Kyle Stowers, Jordan Westburg, and Zach Watson each went 1-for-4. Stowers added two RBI, and Watson had a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth. On the other side of the spectrum, Adam Hall had a game to forget at the plate, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 9, Fredericksburg Nationals 1

Hey, what do you know, the Delmarva lineup had another massive day! Once again, Gunnar Henderson led the way with a 3-for-5 night, which included his eighth home run. Hudson Haskin and Mason Janvrin also left the yard, with Janvrin’s dong of the three-run variety. Dylan Harris and Ramon Rodriguez both added a double.

The Shorebirds used four pitchers to hold the Nationals to just one run, which came in the very first inning. Xavier Moore started but went just two innings, allowing the one run on two hits and two walks. From there, it was all zeroes. Jensen Elliot threw two scoreless. Kyle Martin struck out the side in his one clean frame. And Noah Denoyer earned the win with four effectively wild innings in which he did not allow any hits while striking out six and walking four.

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

Thursday’s scheduled games

• Norfolk: at Durham, 6:35. Starter: Mac Sceroler (0-0, 21.60 ERA)
• Bowie: at Hartford, 7:05. Starter: TBD
• Aberdeen: vs Hickory, 7:05. Starter: TBD
• Delmarva: at Fredericksburg, 7:05. Starter: Houston Roth (0-0, 4.20 ERA)