Orioles minor league recap 9/3: Wells starts road back to MLB with rehab outing

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 5, Lehigh Valley (Phillies) 3

The Tides scored three early runs and added two more in the seventh inning, and it’s a good thing they did, because they gave up three ninth inning runs. Trying to push reliever Ryan Watson, who’d pitched the seventh and eighth innings, for a third inning, went poorly.

For the prospect watchers, this was a solid win, although the prospects weren’t the ones with the big run-scoring hits. Jacob Nottingham and Kelvin Gutiérrez drove in two runs each. Colton Cowser had a hit and a walk from the leadoff spot in the lineup. He’s just 2-16 in four games since joining the Tides, but hey, it’s only four games. Faring better was Joey Ortiz, who racked up three hits, scored two runs, and drove in a run himself. Ortiz is hitting .471 through the same four games.

Blanking the IronPigs for the first six innings was starting pitcher Matt Harvey. He scattered three hits and four walks while striking out seven, lowering his Triple-A ERA this season to 4.31. It is nice that we did not experience the version of the year 2022 where the Orioles needed his services at the MLB level.

Norfolk box score.

Double-A: Erie (Tigers) 4, Bowie Baysox 3

Every game in this series is crucial because these two teams are fighting for the second half division title in the Eastern League Southwest. Bowie’s loss draws them back into a tie with two more head-to-head games over the next two days, plus two more weeks of games against other teams.

Baysox batters drew the assignment of facing a Tigers first rounder from last year, CB A round pick Ty Madden, who’s been pitching great in High-A and Double-A this season. Madden struck out ten Bowie batters over a six inning start, allowing a run only when Darell Hernaiz hit a sacrifice fly. Hernaiz took an 0-3; he’s hitting .111 in four games at this level. Connor Norby and Coby Mayo had one hit apiece.

The O’s affiliate fell in a 3-0 hole early and eventually rallied to tie with Toby “Lawrence” Welk delivering a two-run double. That bailed out starting pitcher Garrett Stallings, who pitched the minimum quality start (six innings, three earned runs). Stallings gave up six hits, did not walk anyone, and struck out two. His 6.44 ERA for the season is unimpressive, but he’s lowered it from 10.08 at the end of June, so at least he’s got that going for him.

Bowie box score.

High-A: Hickory (Rangers) 9, Aberdeen IronBirds 2

Not much good to say about this one. Big leaguer Tyler Wells had a rehab outing, throwing 31 pitches over 2.1 innings. He struck out three batters. Wells was lifted after allowing a single in the third inning and the reliever let the run score, so it was charged to Wells.

In other rehab news, Grayson Rodriguez, who rehabbed for Aberdeen earlier this week, is headed up to Bowie to make his next rehab start. This is assumed to be happening on Tuesday, but that’s not guaranteed yet.

Heston Kjerstad had the night off.

Aberdeen box score.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 3, Fredericksburg Nationals 2

Let’s see here... Jackson Holliday: 0-5. Dang. Dylan Beavers: 0-3. Dang, although he did draw a walk. This did not stop the Shorebirds from going on to win the game thanks to two eighth inning runs that turned a loss into a win.

Catcher and fourth round pick Silas Ardoin was 3-4, getting half of Delmarva’s hits all by himself and driving in all three runs. Nice work, Son of Danny. Second round pick Max Wagner had two hits to make sure he was on base for both of Ardoin’s run-scoring plate appearances.

Delmarva box score.

Saturday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: vs. Lehigh Valley, 6:35. Starter: Drew Rom
• Bowie: at Erie, 4:05. Starter: TBD
• Aberdeen: vs. Hickory, 6:05. Starter: Houston Roth
• Delmarva: at Fredericksburg, 6:05. Starter: TBD