Orioles minor league recap 8/18: Joey Ortiz remains hot at the plate

Triple-A: Durham Bulls (Rays) 4, Norfolk Tides 3

Bruce Zimmermann continues to push for a promotion back to Baltimore. Over 6.2 innings, the lefty allowed three earned runs on five hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts. His ERA with the Tides is 3.86. The bullpen backed him up with Blaine Knight escaping a jam in the seventh, and then Nick Vespi struck out three over his two scoreless frames.

The Norfolk lineup had a poor night. They had three total hits, a single and a triple from Jordan Westburg!, and a single from Greg Cullen. GUNNAR HENDERSON went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and a throwing error from the shortstop position. DJ Stewart once again played some first base, but he went 0-for-3 and made an error in the field.

Double-A: Somerset Patriots (Yankees) 10, Bowie Baysox 9

Let’s start with the positives. The Baysox bats were hot, and it all started with Joey Ortiz. The shortstop went 4-for-5 with two home runs (one grand slam), a double, five RBI, and three runs scored. He owns a 1.159 OPS in the month of August. That is pretty good! Helping out Ortiz at the plate was a two-hit night for Coby Mayo, two-run homer for Hudson Haskin, and a 1-for-4 game for Colton Cowser.

Unfortunately, Bowie still lost because there were some problems on the mound. Chayce McDermott made his Double-A debut, and it did not go well. The righty gave up three home runs, including a fourth-inning grand slam that ended his game after 3.2 frames and eight earned runs. The Bowie bullpen did well to keep the game within reach, allowing two runs over the final 5.1 innings.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 9, Asheville Tourists 4 (Astros)

The lone winners on the farm, the IronBirds had themselves a pleasant offensive evening. The lineup combined for 12 hits and went 8-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Heston Kjerstad went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks, and three runs scored. Billy Cook smacked a grand slam in the sixth inning. Donta’ Williams, Darell Hernaiz, and Luis Valdez all stole bases. And both Williams and Trendon Craig had three-hit performances.

The IronBirds called on just two pitchers to get through all nine innings. Connor Gillispie started and did well to rebound from a rough first inning in which he gave up a grand slam himself. He ended up lasting five innings and did not allow another run. Daniel Lloyd followed and earned the win with his four scoreless innings in which he struck out six Tourists.

Low-A: Salem (Red Sox) 9, Delmarva Shorebirds 6

Dylan Beavers continues his strong start with Delmarva. The right fielder went 3-for-5 with a run scored and a stolen base. Jud Fabian added a double and a walk. Reed Trimble was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Max Wagner went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.

Three different pitchers took the mound for the Shorebirds, and none of them were particularly effective. Conor Grady started, giving up four runs over four innings. Dylan Heid followed, serving up three runs over 3.1 frames. And then Alejandro Mendez came on for two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs.

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

Thursday’s Scheduled Games

• Triple-A Norfolk: vs Durham, 12:05. Starting pitcher: Denyi Reyes (0-3, 6.37 ERA)
• Double-A Bowie: vs Somerset, 6:35. Starting pitcher: Brenan Hanifee (0-1, 6.00 ERA)
• High-A Aberdeen: vs Asheville, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Jean Pinto (3-4, 4.40 ERA)
• Low A Delmarva: at Salem, 7:05. Starting pitcher: TBD