Orioles minor league recap 9/16: Rodriguez dominates, Welk walks it off in Bowie

Triple-A: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) 7, Norfolk Tides 3

Norfolk had no problem getting runners on base. They out-hit Jacksonville 10-to-9, and they even walked five times as a group. But they struggled to cash in on those opportunities. Adley Rutschman may have had the best game, going 1-for-3 with a triple, two walks, a run scored, and one RBI. Mason McCoy had three hits, including his 18th double. Kyle Stowers and Tyler Nevin had two hits each. Robert Neustrom hit his 8th home run at the Triple-A level.

Ofelky Peralta started on the hill for the Tides, and there were some positives. He struck out eight batters and allowed only two runs, but he also lasted just 4.1 innings, which meant the bullpen was going to have a long day. Paul Fry was able to throw 0.2 scoreless, but it was a tougher game for Thomas Eshelman and Dusten Knight, surrendering five runs combined over their joint two innings of work. Nick Vespi tossed two scoreless innings to end the game on a positive.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 5, Altoona Curve (Pirates) 4 - F/10

This guy Grayson Rodriguez sure can pitch, can’t he? The top pitching prospect in baseball needed 68 pitches to get through five innings, allowing one run on four hits, no walks, and five strikeouts. His season ERA is down to 2.60. Logan Gillaspie tossed a pair of scoreless innings behind him. Tim Naughton and Claudio Custodio would not be as effective, serving up three runs over three innings to cough up the lead.

Fortunately, the Baysox brought their bats to the park too. Their lineup had 11 hits and did well to go 5-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The winning run came on a walk-off single from Toby Welk in the bottom of the 10th inning to score Andrew Daschbach, who had singled earlier. Welk also homered. Jordan Westburg, Patrick Dorrian, and Johnny Rizer each had two singles. Chris Hudgins was 2-for-3 with a double.

High-A: Greenville Drive (Red Sox) 4, Aberdeen IronBirds 0

It is impossible to win a baseball game if you do not score any runs. The IronBirds found that out here, recording just three hits and a walk in the loss. TT Bowens and Cristopher Cespedes each doubled while Ryne Ogren had both a single and the team’s lone base on balls. That was it. The team went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left five runners no base.

All of the runs allowed came against Conner Loeprich. The starter served up the four runs on six hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts across five innings. At least the bullpen kept things closer from there as Luis Perez, Ignacio Feliz, and Nick combined for four shutout frames.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 4, Salem Red Sox 3

Nearly the entire Shorebirds lineup got involved, even though they scored just four times. All but one player had at least one hit or one walk. Connor Norby, Darell Hernaiz, and Billy Cook each doubled. Donta’ Williams recorded his first triple. Colton Cowser led the way with two RBI. Coby Mayo had three walks; Norby had two. One negative may have been Hernaiz’s day on the bases, where he was both caught stealing and picked off at first base.

Delmarva needed four pitchers to get through these nine innings. Ty Blach started, allowing one run and striking out three over two innings. Shane Davis was the standout with his 3.1 scoreless innings, featuring three strikeouts. Daniel Lloyd had some trouble in his 1.1 innings of work as two runs scored. And then it was Ricky Ramirez that went home with the win, finishing up the final 2.1 innings without allowing a run of his own to score.

Complete box scores from all of Wednesday’s games can be found here. The Orioles’ teams in both the Dominican Summer League and the Florida Complex League were both off.

Thursday’s scheduled games

• Norfolk: vs Jacksonville, 12:05. Starter: TBD
• Bowie: vs Altoona, 6:35. Starter: Garrett Stallings (2-2, 5.57 ERA)
• Aberdeen: vs Greenville, 7:05. Starter: Jake Prizina (3-2, 3.89 ERA)
• Delmarva: at Salem, 7:05. Starter: TBD