Orioles minor league recap 7/10: Adley Rutschman provides the heroics for Bowie in game two

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 9, Durham (Rays) Bulls 4

Doing some home cooking from Harbor Park last night, the Tides hit their way to a victory over the Durham Bulls. Norfolk scattered their runs throughout the game, getting an RBI single from Tyler Nevin in the first and a sacrifice fly from Nick Ciuffo in the second.

The Tides scratched a crooked three spot on the board in the fourth on a throwing error by Durham’s catcher, an RBI single by Mason McCoy, and a wild pitch by Durham pitcher Chris Mazza. Stevie Wilkerson added a two-run homer in the sixth, and in the seventh, Ciuffo had an RBI single and McCoy had an RBI groundout.

Tides’ starter Kyle Bradish had a subpar outing but was bailed out by his offense and still earned the win. He lasted five innings, allowing four runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Bradish is now 2-2 on the year with a 4.63 ERA.

Shortstop Mason McCoy went 1-for-4 with two RBI, two stolen bases, a run, and a walk. Yusniel Diaz was hitless in five at-bats, lowering his batting average to .173, and Tyler Nevin had three hits to raise his average to .246.

Double-A: Game 1 - Richmond (Giants) Flying Squirrels 6, Bowie Baysox 0

In a pairing we could see at the major league level in the not-too-distant future, John Means and Adley Rutschman were batterymates last night for the first game of Bowie’s doubleheader.

Means got his work in at Double-A as he continues his comeback from a shoulder injury, He threw 61 pitches over three innings and allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits — including two solo home runs —while striking out three.

Bowie’s lineup, on the other hand, couldn't muster any offense and got shut out by the Flying Squirrels. The Baysox only had three hits in the game — a single by Toby Welk in the second, a double by Cadyn Grenier in the third, and a single by Kyle Stowers in the fourth. Adley Rutschman took an 0-fer at the plate.

Game 2 - Bowie Baysox 3, Richmond (Giants) Flying Squirrels 2

Thanks to a solid start by Michael Baumann and some timely hitting, Bowie was able to take the second half of the doubleheader and even things up with the Flying Squirrels on the day.

Baumann gave up two runs over five innings with four hits allowed and five strikeouts. Diogenes Almengo pitched a scoreless inning in relief and Tim Naughton earned his third save of the year for the Baysox.

Bowie got some help from the long ball with their first run coming on a solo home run by Kyle Stowers in the second. Alexis Torres added an RBI single in the same inning to give Bowie a 2-0 lead. And with the score tied at two in the fifth, Adley Rustchman delivered a solo home run to give Bowie a 3-2 lead that would hold up for the rest of the game.

It was Rustchman’s 12th home run of the year and he’s currently slashing .283/.413/.507 at the plate. Stowers had a two-hit game and is batting .278 with a .955 OPS.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 6, Greenville (Red Sox) Drive 5

Left-handed Jake Prizina (6’0”, 190), drafted by the O’s in the 31st round of the 2019 draft, got his first win of the season last night for the Ironbirds. He pitched six innings and allowed three runs, leaving his ERA at 3.27.

Gunnar Henderson, batting fifth and playing shortstop, gave Prizina a one-run lead in the second with a solo home run. Jump ahead to the fifth and Aberdeen was trailing by three runs went Maverick Handley delivered an RBI double and Dylan Harris hit a two-run homer. The Ironbirds added a couple more runs in the sixth on Gunnar Henderson’s two-run home run, his second of the game. The Ironbirds gave two runs back to the Drive in the bottom of the seventh but were able to hold onto the win, 6-5.

Jordan Westburg, batting second and playing third base, was hitless in four at-bats but is still batting .273 with a .802 OPS on the year. Designated hitter J.D. Mundy went 2-for-5 and raised his average to .282.

Low-A: Game 1 - Salem Red Sox 9, Delmarva Shorebirds 3

The Shorebirds fell behind early in the first game of their doubleheader and were unable to mount any sort of real comeback. They were 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position, scoring lone runs in the second, third, and seventh.

Delmarva starter Shane Davis struggled mightily on the mound by allowing nine runs over 1.2 innings and saw his ERA climb to 5.90.

TT Bowens went 2-for-3 at the dish, notching a solo home run in the second — his eighth of the year — and logging an RBI single in the third. The Shorebirds’ other run came courtesy of an RBI single by Lamar Sparks in the seventh.

Game 2 - Salem Red Sox 11, Delmarva Shorebirds 2

Unfortunately, Delmarva’s second game of the evening went a lot like the first and ended in a lopsided loss. Starting pitcher Luis Perez gave up three runs (two earned) over three innings of work. Then the bullpen was unable to hold Salem’s offense in check, with eight runs (seven earned) split almost evenly among three Delmarva relievers.

On offense for the Shorebirds, TT Bowens continued his power display from game one, hitting a two-run home run in the first inning of this one. Mason Janvrin led off the inning with a double, and three batters later Bowens launched the first pitch he saw into the left center field stands. His OPS jumped up 11 points after the nightcap.

The Shorebirds were 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left four runners on base as a team. On defense, shortstop Darell Hernaiz committed two errors (fielding, throwing) and catcher Ramon Rodriguez had a throwing error as well.

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

Saturday’s scheduled games:

• Norfolk vs. Durham, 7:05. Starter: Kevin Smith (1-1, 3.86 ERA)
• Bowie vs. Richmond, 6:35 PM. Starter: Grayson Rodriguez (3-1, 1.82 ERA)
• Aberdeen at Greenville, 7:05. Starter: Garrett Stallings (5-3, 4.83 ERA)
• Delmarva vs. Salem, 7:05 PM. Starter: Noah Denoyer (4-2, 3.72 ERA)