Orioles minor league recap 7/15: Pitching depth shines with Bradish, Baumann and Harvey on display

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 2, Worcester Red Sox (Red Sox) 1 F/7

Major league veteran Matt Harvey went the distance to pick up the win in this one. Harvey completed the abridged game with five hits, three walks and five strikeouts. Worcester’s only run came via a solo homer in the fourth inning. Harvey threw 58 of 92 pitches for strikes.

Norfolk evened the score in the bottom of the fourth on a Rylan Bannon fielder’s choice. Terrin Vavra walked it off for Norfolk with a single in the seventh. Vavra, Jordan Westburg, Gunnar Henderson and Kyle Stowers all recorded a hit in the first game.

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 11, Worcester Red Sox (Red Sox) 4 F/7

The Tides exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning. Both Kyle Stowers and Gunnar Henderson tripled while Richie Martin and Rylan Bannon doubled. Surprisingly, Martin was the only Norfolk player to record multiple hits. Yusniel Diaz finished 0-3 but scored a run and recorded an RBI.

Mike Baumann started and allowed only one hit in five innings. Baumann struck out four but also issued four free passes. Still, the idea of Baumann stretching out his arm at Norfolk is exciting. It will be intriguing to watch how Baltimore handles the pitching prospect for the remainder of the season.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 2, Akron RubberDucks 0 (Guardians) F/7

Another game, another major league starting pitcher. Kyle Bradish made a rehab start and matched Baumann with only one hit over five shutout innings. Bradish struck out four and did not walk a batter. He threw 41 of 66 pitches for strikes.

Connor Norby put the team on his back with a pair of solo homers. Norby and Joey Ortiz combined for all four of Bowie’s hits.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 9 Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 1 F/7

Once again, the bats came out in the second game. Bowie tagged Akron for nine runs between the third and fifth innings. Colton Cowser followed Norby’s lead with a pair of homers in the second game, but Greg Cullen made sure he didn’t dong alone. Joey Ortiz added two more hits, and Zach Watson finished 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs.

Noah Denoyer may not be a major league pitcher yet, but he continued an impressive season with four innings of one-run ball. Denoyer allowed three hits, walked two, and struck out five. Akron’s only run came via a solo shot against Denoyer.

Jake Prizina earned the win with 1.2 scoreless innings. Prizina struck out three.

High-A: Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 6, Aberdeen IronBirds 3 (Game started 7/13)

The teams finished Wednesday’s game after the stadium lights stopped operating properly. Neither team scored yesterday as Jersey Shore held on for the victory.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 5, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 4

Darell Hernaiz got the party started with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first. Aberdeen tacked on three more in the fourth when Billy Cook doubled with the bases loaded. Aberdeen tallied only four hits on the day but took advantage of two Jersey Shore errors. Heston Kjerstad went hitless but did score a run.

Ignacio Feliz dominated with six innings of one-hit ball. Feliz struck out seven and moved to 5-2 with a 3.82 ERA.

Low-A: Carolina Mudcats (Brewers) 7, Delmarva Shorebirds 6

Delmarva took a one-run lead into the ninth but Yaqui Rivera blew the save after allowing runs on a fielder’s choice and sacrifice fly.

Luis Valdez led the charge with three hits from the leadoff spot. Wilkin Grullon delivered a three-run homer from the nine hole.

Box scores from Thursday’s games can be found here.

Friday’s Scheduled Games

• Triple-A Norfolk: vs Worcester, 7:05. Starter: Chris Vallimont (2-1, 6.00 ERA)
• Double-A Bowie: vs Akron, 7:05. Starter: TBD
• High-A Aberdeen: vs. Jersey Shore, 7:05 Starter: Jake Lyons (1-0, 4.38 ERA)
• Low-A Delmarva: at Carolina, 7:00. Starter: Ryan Long (3-4, 3.78 ERA)