Orioles minor league recap 4/8: Wells shines, Diaz homers twice in loss

Triple A: Charlotte Knights (White Sox) 13, Norfolk Tides 7 F/10

The Tides fell in extra innings, but let’s skip right to the good stuff. Yusniel Diaz continued his hot start with not one, but two home runs. Diaz launched an absolute no-doubter to deep left field with two outs and nobody on in the first inning. The blast marked Norfolk’s first home run of the season.

Diaz returned to the plate in the seventh inning with two on and two out. The former trade-chip laced another ball to left for an Earl-Weaver special that evened the game at three. His struggles were well documented last season, Diaz’s talent has never been questioned. It would be an extremely pleasant surprise to see a healthy Diaz make a case for an early promotion this year.

Speaking of early promotions, Alexander Wells took advantage of his first opportunity to build a case for a call up. Wells allowed just one hit and one walk in four innings. He kept Charlotte off the scoreboard and struck out three. Jahmai Jones also impressed with a 3-5 performance that included a two-run home run.

Blaine Knight allowed three runs in just two-thirds of an inning, and Marcos Diplán allowed three more in an inning of work. Nick Vespi kept Norfolk in the game with 2.1 scoreless innings, but David Lebron imploded in extras to hand the Knights the game.

The box score for Thursday’s game can be found here

Friday’s scheduled games

• Norfolk: vs. Charlotte, 7:05. Starter: Grayson Rodriguez
• Bowie: vs. Richmond, 7:05. Starter: Drew Rom
• Aberdeen: at Jersey Shore, 7:05. Starter: TBD
• Delmarva: vs. Fredericksburg, 7:05. Starter: Shane Davis