Orioles minor league recap 5/13: Rutschman and Rodriguez shine again

Triple-A: Memphis (Cardinals) 5, Norfolk Tides 2

Adley Rutschman blasted a solo home run in the seventh inning to provide fans one more reason to get excited for his arrival. Kyle Stowers plated the only other Norfolk run with a single in the third inning. Yusniel Diaz added a hit and two walks, and Ryan McKenna finished 1-for-5 from the leadoff spot. Kelvin Gutierrez tallied a hit and a walk in four plate appearances.

If the star-studded paragraph above was not enough, boy do I have good news for you. Grayson Rodriguez was up to his usual tricks over five innings of one-run ball. Rodriguez struck out eight and allowed only three hits. Baltimore’s top pitching prospect did walk two, but we won’t hold it against him tonight.

Mike Baumann replaced Rodriguez and immediately struck out the side in the sixth inning. Baumann worked a scoreless seventh but allowed a pair of runs on a walk and solo homer in the eighth. Cole Uvila allowed a pair of runs in the ninth.

Double-A: Reading (Phillies) 11, Bowie Baysox 6

Jordan Westburg provided half of Bowie’s offense with a three-run home run in the seventh inning. The blast came three batters after Hudson Haskin launched a solo shot to begin the inning. Haskin finished 2-for-4 and also worked a walk.

Gunnar Henderson extended his on-base streak to 28 games to start the season. Henderson walked three (3!) times and also stole a base. Joey Ortiz went hitless in five trips but Shayne Fontana finished 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

The first three pitchers combined to give up 11 runs before Wes Robertson tossed a scoreless ninth. Antonio Velez took the loss after allowing five runs in three innings.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 7, Hudson Valley (Yankees) 2

Justin Armbruester picked up his first win of the season in his longest start to date. Armbruester allowed just two runs in six innings of work. Armbruester allowed just three hits in the game but two were solo home runs. The 23-year-old righty struck out eight and did not walk a batter. Jake Lyons tossed three hitless innings to finish off the game.

Collin Burns recorded the only multi-hit game for the IronBirds. Burns, Jacob Teter and Coby Mayo all doubled and scored a run. Colton Cowser went hitless but John Rhodes singled, walked and scored twice.

Low-A: Salem (Red Sox) 5, Delmarva Shorebirds 1

Noelberth Romero claimed two of Delmarva’s five hits with a single and a triple. Trendon Craig walked twice and Brayan Hernandez scored the only run of the game for the Shorebirds.

Conor Grady took the loss after allowing four runs in three innings, but Carson Carter fared much better with three scoreless innings. Carter, an undrafted free agent in 2021, allowed two hits and struck out three.

Box scores for Thursday’s games can be found here

Friday’s Scheduled Games

• Triple-A Norfolk: vs Memphis, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Kevin Smith (0-1, 1.15 ERA)
• Double-A Bowie: at Reading, 6:45. Starting pitcher: Conner Loeprich (0-1, 9.49 ERA)
• High-A Aberdeen: at Hudson Valley, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Peter Van Loon (3-0, 3.86 ERA)
• Low-A Delmarva: vs Salem, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Shane Davis (1-2, 2.81 ERA)