Orioles minor league recap 7/21: An awful night for every affiliate

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides at Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) — POSTPONED

Rain washed out the opener of the series. It’ll be made up as a doubleheader tomorrow.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies) 6, Bowie Baysox 3

It was a rough night for starter Cody Sedlock, who was torched for five runs in the fourth inning, which began with back-to-back home runs and and also included a steal of home. All told, Sedlock allowed six runs and six hits in his four innings of work. But outstanding long relief work by Blaine Knight kept the game close. The 2018 third-rounder racked up seven strikeouts in four scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and one walk.

The Baysox offense, embarrassingly, was held to one run in 5.1 innings by right-hander Karl Kauffmann, who entered the game with an 0-7 record and 10.01 ERA. The Baysox got their hits, 10 of them in all, but cashed in only three runs thanks to a 1-for-9 mark with runners in scoring position and 12 men stranded on base. Adley Rutschman had one of those hits, along with a walk, and Toby Welk and Johnny Rizer each homered. Center fielder Zach Watson, making his Bowie debut after his promotion from Aberdeen, laced a double in his first at-bat.

High-A: Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees) 19, Aberdeen IronBirds 1

Yes, you read that right: 19 to 1. Ouch. Just...ouch. One IronBirds pitcher after another was absolutely bombed off the mound, as each of the first three hurlers — Connor Gillispie, Xavier Moore, and Garrett Farmer — was charged with five earned runs. The Renegades blasted six home runs, five of which came with runners aboard, including two dingers apiece by second baseman Ezequiel Duran and first baseman Chad Bell. Duran, the Yankees’ #15 prospect on MLB Pipeline, drove in six runs. All nine Hudson Valley starters had both a hit and a run, and seven of them collected RBIs. They totaled 20 hits in all.

On the extreme other end of the spectrum, the IronBirds managed only two hits all night, a single apiece by Jordan Westburg (the Orioles’ #6 prospect) and Hudson Haskin (#13). Westburg drove in Aberdeen’s only run. Gunnar Henderson, the Birds’ #5 prospect, was 0-for-2 but drew two walks. Adam Hall (#11 prospect) was 0-for-3 atop the order.

Low-A: Lynchburg Hillcats (Cleveland) 10, Delmarva Shorebirds 3

The Shorebirds were also on the wrong end of a blowout, though not quite as lopsided as Aberdeen’s. Delmarva was out of the game almost immediately, as Lynchburg amassed a 9-0 lead by the third inning and cruised from there. Starter Brandon Young lasted just 1.2 innings and was ripped for seven runs, though only two were earned thanks to a fateful error by right fielder Craig Lewis on what should’ve been the third out of the second inning. The Hillcats ended up sending five more batters to the plate that inning and scoring six runs.

Lewis, making his Delmarva debut after being called up from the Florida Complex League, somewhat atoned for his defensive miscue with the bat, stroking two doubles. He was the only Shorebirds batter with more than one hit. As a team, they struck out 14 times and walked just three.

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

Wednesday’s scheduled games:

• Norfolk: at Gwinnett, 12:05 PM (doubleheader). Game 1 starter: Kyle Bradish (2-2, 5.65); Game 2 starter: TBD
• Bowie: vs. Hartford, 6:35 PM. Starter: Gray Fenter (4-2, 7.38)
• Aberdeen: vs. Hudson Valley, 7:05 PM. Starter: Ignacio Feliz (Aberdeen debut)
• Delmarva: vs. Lynchburg, 5:05 PM (doubleheader). Game 1 starter: Shane Davis (4-3, 6.33); Game 2 starter: Noah Denoyer (5-2, 2.85)