Orioles minor league recap 8/28: Norfolk comes from behind for walk-off win in extras

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 7, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) 6

Trailing by a run in the late innings, Norfolk tied it in the ninth and scored the go-ahead run in the 10th. J.C. Escarra led off the ninth with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Zach Jarrett. Then Ryan Ripken hit a sacrifice fly to bring Escarra home.

Norfolk walked it off the very next inning. Richie Martin was the runner on second to start the bottom of the 10th. He was joined on the base paths by Rylan Bannon and Robert Neustrom, who both reached via walk. Then Mason McCoy earned a bases-loaded free pass to bring Martin home and end the game.

Tides’ starter Blaine Knight got pushed around last night, allowing four runs in four innings of work. That included six hits, two walks, two strikeouts, and a home run. Cody Sedlock came on in relief and allowed two runs — both solo home runs — over four innings. Zack Burdi pitched a scoreless ninth inning, and Dusten Knight pitched a scoreless 10th to earn the win.

Ryan McKenna was 3-for-5 with a three-run home run and four RBI, while Richie Martin was 1-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored. Adley Rutschman was 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. He’s hitting .351 for the Tides with a .904 OPS. Neustrom and Escarra also contributed two hits apiece.

Double-A: Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 6, Bowie Baysox 3

Gray Fenter was wild on the mound for the Baysox last night, tossing 64 pitches before he was pulled with two outs in the third. He allowed three hits, five walks, and two runs while striking out four. Steven Klimek followed Fenter and allowed two runs (one earned), after which Kyle Brnovich allowed two earned runs. That was enough offense for the SeaWolves to overcome the Baysox, who only scored three runs.

In the bottom of the first, Bowie got on the board with a sacrifice fly from Kyle Stowers. In the bottom of the sixth, they got a two-run single from Johnny Rizer. Even though Bowie leadoff hitter Terrin Vavra was hitless on the night, he earned three walks and scored a run. No. 2 hitter Patrick Dorrian went 2-for-5 behind Vavra.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 6, Aberdeen IronBirds 4

The Cyclones made a lot of contact last night against Ironbirds’ starter Brandon Young, who gave up three runs (two earned) over four innings. He allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out five batters. Easton Lucas pitched two scoreless innings in relief, but Ignacio Feliz was charged with the blown save and the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) in the bottom of the eighth.

Ironbirds’ catcher Ramon Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with a two-run single in the first. Right fielder Lamar Sparks was 2-for-5 with an RBI triple in the fifth. And even though shortstop Gunnar Henderson was hitless, he contributed a walk, scored a run, and had an RBI groundout in the fifth.

Low-A: Salem Red Sox 5, Delmarva Shorebirds 3

It was a strong start for Delmarva, with Cameron Bishop pitching a scoreless first before giving way to Carlos Tavera, who pitched two scoreless innings in relief. The Shorebirds scored a pair of runs in the second when John Rhodes hit a home run after Colton Cowser’s leadoff walk.

But the middle innings weren’t kind to Delmarva. The Salem Red Sox scored a run in the fourth, two in the fifth, and two in the sixth. Delmarva scored in the seventh on a RBI groundout by Darell Hernaiz, shrinking the deficit to two. But that’s the closest Delmarva would get to Salem.

At the plate, left-fielder John Rhodes finished the night 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI. Colton Cowers went 1-for-2 with two walks and a run scored. The O’s 2021 first-round pick is now hitting .333 with a .902 OPS in Low Single-A.

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

Saturday’s scheduled games

• Norfolk vs. Jacksonville, 7:05 PM. Starter: Alexander Wells (6-3, 3.42 ERA)
• Bowie vs. Erie, 6:35 PM. Starter: Grayson Rodriguez (5-1, 2.92 ERA)
• Aberdeen at Brooklyn, 6:00 PM. Starter: Conner Loeprich (0-3, 9.38 ERA)
• Delmarva at Salem, 6:05 PM. Starter: Jean Pinto (0-1, 1.75 ERA)