Orioles minor league recap 5/5: Gunnar Henderson cannot be stopped

Triple-A: Nashville (Brewers) 4, Norfolk Tides 2

Robert Neustrom stayed hot at the plate with his fifth home run of the season. He is now hitting .290 with a .900 OPS on the season. Jahmai Jones added a run-scoring double, and Ryan McKenna had two hits atop the order.

Denyi Reyes looked solid over his five innings of work, allowing just one run on three hits, no walks, and six strikeouts. It was the Tides bullpen that struggled. Diogenes Almengo got into trouble with a hit and two walks, leading to a run scored in his inning. And it was a tough Triple-A debut for Logan Gillaspie. He struck out the side in the seventh, but came back in the eighth to serve up two runs on three hits and a walk.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 10, Harrisburg (Nationals) 7

Gunnar Henderson is well on his way to becoming the Orioles top prospect later this year. Not only because of others graduating from those sorts of lists, but because he keeps mashing at the plate. The third baseman had three hits, including a double, and two runs scored here. Adley Rutschman added two hits as the DH. Hudson Haskin singled, walked, and scored twice. J.D. Mundy drove in three runs on a double of his own.

It was another nice start for Drew Rom, who lasted 5.1 innings (80 pitches) while serving up two runs on five hits, no walks, and six strikeouts. Jensen Elliott struggled in relief as Harrisburg tagged him for five runs (four earned) on nine hits over two innings. Morgan McSweeney came in after that for the save, and did so while striking out two in his inning of work.

High-A: Brooklyn (Mets) 9, Aberdeen IronBirds 4

The only good news on the pitching side of things was Houston Roth, but it was really good! His one run was unearned, and the rest of his line is sublime: five innings, one hit, two walks, six strikeouts. Unfortunately, he was unable to get the win because the bullpen imploded behind him, allowing eight earned runs over the final four frames.

Jacob Teter smacked his second home run of the season. Coby Mayo added two singles and an RBI. Colton Cowser was 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Connor Norby took an 0-for-4.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 5, Columbia (Royals) 1

Two Delmarva hitters got their first home runs of the year at this level: Isaac De Leon and Luis Valdez. Valdez also added a stolen base, his ninth of the season. Noelberth Romero and Darell Hernaiz both doubled. Creed Willems went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

It was a sterling day for the Shorebirds pitching staff. Juan De Los Santos started and tossed four innings of one-run ball while striking out six. Jake Lyons earned the win with his three scoreless innings in which he walked three but struck out four. And it was Keagan Gillies that wrapped things up with two zeros of his own.

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

Thursday’s Scheduled Games

• Triple-A Norfolk: at Nashville, 7:35. Starting pitcher: Zac Lowther (0-3, 10.32 ERA)
• Double-A Bowie: vs Harrisburg, 11:05. Starting pitcher: Antonio Velez (0-2, 5.59 ERA)
• High-A Aberdeen: vs Brooklyn, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Justin Armbruester (0-0, 3.86 ERA)
• Low-A Delmarva: at Columbia, 7:05. Starting pitcher: TBD