Orioles minor league recap 4/21: Grayson Rodriguez is dominating Triple-A

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 3, Durham (Rays) 0

It’s only been three starts, but Grayson Rodriguez is getting rather close to proving that Triple-A is no longer a challenge for him. The top pitching prospect in baseball threw 5.1 shutout innings while striking out eight, walking one, and allowing just the one hit. His season ERA sits at 1.26.

The bullpen shouldn’t be overlooked, though. The Tides used four relievers to finish up the final 3.2 frames. Nick Vespi recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning, and then it was one inning apiece for Tim Naughton, Matt Vogel, and Cole Uvila.

Robert Neustrom led the charge on offense with two doubles. Richie Martin and Terrin Vavra both drove in runs. However, Vavra’s day ended early when he exited with an injury. There is no word yet on the severity. Johnny Rizer swiped his first bag of the season.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 5, Akron (Guardians) 0

Not to be outdone, Garrett Stallings turned in a stellar performance of his own for the Baysox. The former Angels prospect tossed five scoreless innings while striking out five to earn his first win of the season. Ryan Watson continued to impress with four no-hit frames out of the bullpen, sitting down three batters on strikes in the process.

Hudson Haskin stayed hot at the plate with a two-hit day. Gunnar Henderson doubled and scored twice. Adam Hall singled twice and walked at the top of the order. But the theme of the day was strikeouts. Bowie struck out 17 times as a group, although they also worked six walks and went 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 5, Greensboro (Pirates) 4

Connor Norby led off the game with a home run. Coby Mayo added a dong of his own in the fifth inning as part of a two-hit, three-RBI day. Colton Cowser went 1-for-5, and Billy Cook drove the other run.

Jean Pinto is still finding his way at High-A. He struck out eight batters over four innings, but he also served up three runs on four hits, a walk, and a home run. Ignacio Feliz was outstanding in relief, striking out 10 batters across four frames. Xavier Moore earned the save with a perfect ninth inning.

Low-A: Myrtle Beach (Cubs) 17, Delmarva Shorebirds 3

Sometimes things just fall apart for a pitching staff. That’s what happened here. The Shorebirds used five pitchers to get through the nine innings. It wasn’t all terrible. Thomas Girard struck out three and allowed just one run over 1.2 innings, and Hugo Beltran tossed 1.1 scoreless frames. But it was a rough go for the other arms, and the three errors (two from Darell Hernaiz, one from Issac De Leon) behind them didn’t help matters.

Hernaiz attempted to make up for his wonky work with the glove by launching two bombs, one in the fourth inning and another in the sixth. The shortstop accounted for all of Delmarva’s three runs. Luis Valdez added a double. Greg Cullen singled and scored a run.

Box scores for Wednesday’s games can be found here.

Thursday’s Scheduled Games

• Triple-A Norfolk: vs Durham, 12:05. Starting pitcher: TBD
• Double-A Bowie: vs Akron, 6:35. Starting pitcher: Drew Rom (1-1, 3.38 ERA)
• High-A Aberdeen: at Greensboro, 6:30. Starting pitcher: TBD
• Low-A Delmarva: vs Myrtle Beach, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Daniel Federman (0-1, 10.13 ERA)