Orioles minor league recap 9/30: Rutschman scores lone run in Norfolk loss

Triple-A: Durham Bulls (Rays) 4, Norfolk Tides 1

Ofelky Peralta’s methodical climb to the major leagues continued as the 24-year-old put together a solid final outing of the season. Over five innings, the righty allowed two runs on four hits, three walks, and two strikeouts. His Triple-A season ends with a 4.91 ERA.

Both of the runs allowed by Peralta came in the first inning. Durham loaded the bases on a Taylor Walls double, Josh Lowe walk, and Jordan Luplow walk. Then Esteban Quiroz drove in Walls and Lowe with a base hit to right field.

Beyond that, Peralta was effective. He sailed through the second, third, and fourth innings with just one total hit allowed. The fifth inning proved more difficult, but he had some help from Adley Rutschman, who threw out Vidal Brujan trying to steal second base after leading off the inning with a walk.

Unfortunately, the Norfolk offense just could not get much going. They scattered five hits, scoring their only run in the fifth inning. Adley Rutschman reached on a single, and then came in to score on a Rylan Bannon double to briefly make it a 2-1 game.

Rutschman was the lone Tides batter with two hits, singling twice. Bannon’s double was the team’s only extra-base hit. Zach Jarrett and J.C. Escarra added a base hit each. As group they did register six walks with Escarra and Kyle Stowers leading the way with two apiece.

It was a mixed bag of performances from the Norfolk bullpen. Issac Mattson and Nick Vespi were both quite good, striking out two each in their innings of work, while Paul Fry and Dusten Knight both allowed a run in their innings of relief.

The box score for this game is available here. The season’s final series continues on Thursday.

Thursday’s scheduled games

• Norfolk: vs Durham, 12:05. Starter: Kevin Smith (3-5, 6.26 ERA)