Orioles minor league recap 7/3: A rainy day on the farm

Triple-A: Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 6, Norfolk Tides 1

If you ignore the number of runs starting pitcher Blaine Knight gave up (five), it wasn’t a bad pitching line. Knight gave up five hits, walked one, and struck out eight in five innings. Not bad! Unfortunately, those hits were timed perfectly to cause the most damage. A single followed by an RBI double in one inning, a walk and then a homer, and a triple followed by a single.

A pair of 40-man pitchers followed Knight in relief. Beau Sulser pitched two scoreless inning, and Marcos Diplán pitched the final two, giving up a two-run homer in the ninth.

Norfolk’s one and only run came on a solo home run from Terrin Vavra (CC’s #12 prospect) the first inning. They ultimately ended up with five hits but couldn’t do nearly enough with them as the Stripers did.

Other than Vavra, who had two hits, it was a rough night for the prospects. Gunnar Henderson (T-#3) and Yusniel Diaz (#28) both went 0-for-4, while Kyle Stowers (T-#8) was 0-for-3 but picked up a walk. Jordan Westburg (#6) was given the night off.

Box Score

Double-A: Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants) 10, Bowie Baysox 3 - F/7

It was a start to forget for Zach Peek. The first batter of the game reached on an error from the rehabbing Ramón Urías. Peek gave up two singles, walked two, and threw a run-scoring wild pitch, but somehow only two runs scored. He wasn’t as lucky in the second. He gave up two runs with just one out recorded, then exited the game with two runners on. Both came in on a home run given up by his relief, Tyler Burch. Peek’s final line: 1.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 3 K.

The final four innings of the game before it was called in the seventh were pitched by Garrett Stallings. Stallings gave up just one run and struck out 10. Nice!

Two of the Baysox three runs were knocked in by Joey Ortiz (#14). He hit a sac fly in the second inning and had an RBI double in the sixth. The third run also scored via sac fly, that one by Cody Roberts.

Checking in on the other ranked players: Connor Norby (#11) had a single and double out of the leadoff spot, while Colton Cowser (T-#3) followed him with an 0-for-2. Hudson Haskin (#18) was also hitless, while Cesar Prieto (T-#16) doubled twice.

Box Score

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds vs. Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox) - POSTPONED

The IronBirds and Dash completed three innings last night before the game was suspended due to rain. The two teams will play a doubleheader today starting at 12:35. The first game will be nine innings, and the second will be seven.

Before the rain came, Houston Roth gave up three runs on four hits, including a two run homer. On offense, Shayne Fontana had a three-run homer and Ryan Higgins had a solo shot.

Low-A: Fredericksburg Nationals 12, Delmarva Shorebirds 5

Not a great night for the low-A team! Starting pitcher Darlin Alcantara pitched lasted just two innings, due in part to issuing five walks. That won’t play! It didn’t help Alcantara that his defense made three errors while he was on the mound and he made a throwing error of his own. Three of the six runs he allowed were unearned.

In Heston Kjerstad (#10) news, he reached base four times last night. He had two singles, a walk, and a hit by pitch. Don’t hit Heston! He’s been through enough.

In addition to Kjerstad, three other batters had multi-hit games. Frederick Benscome had two singles, but balanced it out with two errors. Catcher Michael Mantecon also singled twice but had two passed balls. And DH Wilkin Grullon singled and double.

Box Score

Sunday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk vs Gwinnett, 6:05 PM. Starter: Bruce Zimmermann
• Bowie vs Richmond, 6:05 PM. Starter: TBD
• Aberdeen vs Winston-Salem, 12:35 doubleheader. Game 1 starter: Dan Hammer. Game 2 starter: TBD
• Delmarva @ Fredericksburg, 1:35 PM. Starter: TBD