Orioles minor league recap 5/28: Grayson Rodriguez is incredible

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 5, Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 2

It was Grayson Rodriguez night in Norfolk and he didn’t let us down. The #2 Orioles prospect and third best prospect in baseball had his best start of the season. He gave up a single in the second inning and a single in the seventh, both to Preston Tucker. Those were his only two baserunners in the night. Rodriguez got through seven innings for the first time this season and just the second time in his professional career.

Rodriguez struck out 10 in the game — eight were swinging. In the fifth inning he struck out the side swinging. He threw 88 pitches, 68 for strikes. He was everything we hope for when we see that it’s his turn to pitch. His final pitching line: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K.

On offense, the star was catcher Jacob Nottingham, who went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run. Kelvin Gutiérrez also had two hits and Shed Long doubled in a run. Kyle Stowers (#8 prospect) and Tyler Nevin both went hitless, though Nevin picked up a walk.

Box Score

Double-A: Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 5, Bowie Baysox 0

The game was called after 5 ¹⁄₂ innings due to rain, and in that time they had no luck against SeaWolves’ starter Chance Kirby. The entirety of their offense consisted of two hits: a single by Jordan Westburg (#6) and a double by Adam Hall (#28). That’s right, Gunnar Henderson (#3) did not reach base. That’s basically unheard of these days, but I’m sure if he had a full game’s worth of at-bats he would have.

Starter Garrett Stallings went the rain-shortened distance and was plagued by the long ball. He gave up three home runs, including two to a guy named Kerry Carpenter, who now has 15 home runs this year. That seems pretty good. The game was called in the sixth after Stallings gave up a three-run homer but before he got any outs, so that’s too bad.

Box Score

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 4

Big Jacob Teter hit the go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the ninth to propel the IronBirds to victory. That was in addition to an RBI single in the seventh inning, and he also reached base on a walk. Not a bad night for the 2021 13th round draft pick.

Both Colton Cowser (#4) and Coby Mayo (#7) were given the night off, though both did have pinch-hit ground outs in the eighth inning. At the top of the lineup, Darell Hernaiz (#30) was 0-for-4 with a walk.

Ignacio Feliz got the start and gave up three runs in five innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Box Score

Low-A: Charleston RiverDogs (Rays) 12, Delmarva Shorebirds 6

It was a night to forget for Delmarva’s pitching staff. Starting pitcher Juan De Los Santos was let down by his defense, who made two errors behind him. All told he gave up six runs (four earned) in just four innings, though he did strike out five without walking a batter. He also hurt his own cause by throwing two wild pitches,

Relief pitcher Preston Price allowed the game to get out of hand with five runs allowed in just two innings.

There are many times when six runs will get you the win, but tonight was not one of those nights. The Shorebirds racked up 10 hits and three walks in the game, but it wasn’t enough as the team went 4-for-12 with runners in scoring position. The offensive standout was Mishael Deson, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Isaac Bellony had a double and a single, and leadoff batter Luis Valdez did a good job setting the table with a single and two walks.

Box Score

Sunday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk vs Gwinnett, 6:35 PM. Starter: TBD
• Bowie vs Erie, 6:35 PM. Starter: Ryan Watson
• Aberdeen @ Wilmington, 6:35 PM. Starter: Houston Roth
• Delmarva @ Charleston, 6:05 PM. Starter: Dan Hammer