Orioles minor league recap 9/4: Coby Mayo powers Delmarva to a victory

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 4, Charlotte Knights (White Sox) 0

Norfolk’s pitching was highly effective last night against the Knights, and it all started with Dean Kremer. The right-hander was at the top of his game, tossing five scoreless innings with two hits allowed and five strikeouts. Three Norfolk relievers combined to pitch four scoreless innings and complete the shutout performance.

At the plate, Adley Rutschman was 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI. He’s hitting .355 with a .919 OPS for the Tides. Left fielder Robert Neustrom was 1-for-4 with a RBI, and Pat Valaika was 2-for-4 with a two-run home run. No. 8 hitter Yusniel Diaz went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. He’s carrying a .174 batting average at Triple-A this year.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 6, Somerset Patriots (Yankees) 3

The Baysox did all of their scoring in the first two innings last night, and it was enough to propel them to a win over Somerset. In the bottom of the first, Kyle Stowers (3-for-4, R, 4 RBI) hit a two-run homer — his 15th of the year — after a leadoff walk by Patrick Dorrian (0-for-2, 2 BB, 2 R). Johnny Rizer (0-for-3, BB, R) worked a two-out walk in the same inning and Jordan Westburg (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI) followed with a two-run homer of his own. It was Westburg’s second home run with Bowie and 13th of the year. Stowers struck again in the bottom of the second with a two-run double.

Grayson Rodriguez was on the bump for the Baysox, and he was his typical dominant self. The right-hander allowed one hit, three walks, and seven strikeouts over five scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 2.76. You have to wonder if the O’s will promote him to Triple-A for at least a few starts before the 2021 season ends.

David Lebron was the first reliever out of the Tides bullpen last night, and he gave up three runs in the seventh. But the next two relievers locked it down. Tim Naughton pitched 1.1 scoreless innings for the hold, and Diogenes Almengo struck out the side in the ninth to earn his 10th save.

High-A: Game 1 - Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 4, Aberdeen IronBirds 0 (F/7)

A pair of BlueClaws pitchers — Griff McGarry and Erubiel Armenta — combined to shutout the IronBirds in Game 1 of their doubleheader last night. Aberdeen’s lineup struck out 13 times and went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven men on base. The IronBirds recorded just five hits, including four singles. First baseman TT Bowens had the only extra base hit of the night for Aberdeen; a double in the seventh.

Brandon Young took the loss after allowing three hits, one walk, and two runs in four innings. He also struck out three batters. Reliever Ignacio Feliz gave up an unearned run in the sixth after a passed ball and throwing error by catcher Ryne Ogren. Xavier Moore pitched the final inning and allowed one run on two hits.

High-A: Game 2 - Aberdeen IronBirds 6, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 4 (F/7)

Aberdeen was able to salvage the doubleheader with a victory in Game 2. Starter Conner Loeprich earned the win despite giving up a pair of home runs (three runs total) over five innings. Noah Denoyer earned the save, his first of the season, after pitching the final two innings and allowing one run.

On offense, Jean Carmona was 2-for-3 with an RBI single in the second and another RBI single in the third. AJ Graffanino was 0-for-3 but recorded a pair of RBI on a sacrifice fly in the second and an RBI groundout in the sixth. Dylan Harris had a sacrifice fly in the third, and Doran Turchin was 2-for-3 with an RBI double in the sixth.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 10, Carolina Mudcats (Brewers) 5

It was a slugfest at Five County Stadium last night, and Delmarva came out on top despite allowing 12 walks. The Shorebirds used a total of six pitchers, with starter Carlos Tavera allowing two runs and six walks over 1.2 innings. Preston Price, the first reliever out of the pen, earned the win with 1.1 scoreless innings pitched.

Delmarva’s offense was paced by third baseman Coby Mayo, who went 2-for-4 with five RBI, including a three-run home run. Shortstop and leadoff hitter Darell Hernaiz was 2-for-4 with an RBI, left fielder John Rhodes was 1-for-4 with an RBI, and Collin Burns was 1-for-5 with two RBI.

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

Saturday’s scheduled games

• Norfolk vs. Charlotte, 7:05 PM. Starter: Cody Sedlock (1-0, 2.00 ERA)
• Bowie vs. Somerset, 6:35 PM. Starter: Garrett Stallings (1-1, 4.85 ERA)
• Aberdeen vs. Jersey Shore, 6:05 PM. Starter: Jake Prizina (3-2, 4.06 ERA)
• Delmarva at Carolina, 5:00 PM. Starter: Jean Pinto (0-1, 2.05 ERA)