Orioles minor league recap 9/7: Rodriguez shines in rehab start for Bowie

Triple-A: Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals) 12, Norfolk Tides 0

There wasn’t a whole lot of good to come out of AutoZone Park Tuesday night, as the Tides were dominated from the opening frame in a loss to Memphis. Starter Ryan Conroy gave up four runs (three earned) off five hits in his three innings of work. Zac Lowther relieved him, and things then proceeded to get worse, as Lowther allowed six runs over two innings. It was the classic “death by a thousand singles” situation for Norfolk, as only six of Memphis’ 18 hits went for extra bases.

Offensively, the Tides did get two-hit nights from Joseph Ortiz (Orioles #19 prospect), Jordan Westburg (Orioles #5, MLB Top 100 #80) and Brett Phillips. While Memphis certainly plated plenty of runs off singles, Norfolk couldn’t match the trick. Zero extra-base hits resulted in zero runs scored for the Tides. The bright spot in the gloomy evening was the continued hot hitting of Ortiz. Since being promoted to Norfolk at the end of August, the former fourth-rounder is hitting .414 with a hit in all seven of his appearances for the Tides. Tuesday also marked Ortiz’s fourth multi-hit game since joining Norfolk.

Box Score

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

The good news out of Bowie Tuesday night was that Grayson Rodriguez (Orioles #2, MLB #4) looked great in his rehab start. The Orioles’ crown jewel of pitching prospects struck out four over two innings, while only allowing one hit and one run. If the front office remains consistent, his next stop could be in Norfolk.

Now the bad news: as soon as Rodriguez exited, everything fell apart for the Baysox. Cade Povich (Orioles #15) came in and allowed four runs on three hits while only collecting two outs. Povich—the centerpiece of the Orioles’ return for Jorge Lopez—has now allowed 12 runs over 16.2 innings since being promoted to Bowie. The lefty’s rough outing saw the Baysox down 5-0 after three innings and the offense could not dig Bowie out of that hole.

Coby Mayo (Orioles #7) had the only RBI hit for the Baysox, with a run-scoring single in the fifth. The other Bowie runs scored via a wild pitch and a Toby Welk double play ball. The performance for Mayo continues a hot start to September, one that has seen the power-hitting corner infielder hit .350 over his last five games.

Box Score

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds @ Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies), PPD. due to rain

Tuesday afternoon the IronBirds announced the promotion of Dylan Beavers (Orioles #8), Max Wagner (Orioles #17) and Adam Retzbach from Delmarva. This turned out to be the day’s only highlight for Aberdeen, as their game against the BlueClaws was rained out. They’ll make it up with a doubleheader Wednesday in Lakewood.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 5, Down East Wood Ducks (Rangers) 2

Delmarva was the only winner in the Orioles’ organization Tuesday, as they jumped out to an early lead to shoot down the Wood Ducks. Jackson Holliday (Orioles #3, MLB #14) got the scoring started for Delmarva in the first, lacing a double to left field to score Carter Young (Orioles #29). The Shorebirds would add two more runs in the opening frame off singles from Reed Trimble and Noelberth Romero.

Trimble added two more RBIs—one on a double in the sixth that scored Holliday and another in the 8th that scored Creed Willems. Holliday and Trimble were the offensive stars on the evening, finishing a combined 4-8 with three RBIs, three runs scored and two walks.

Starter Juan Nunez led the way in an impressive overall outing for the Delmarva pitching staff. The 21-year-old Dominican allowed only one hit over four innings while striking out four. Dating back to August 25, Nunez now has a scoreless inning streak of 11 innings over his last three starts.

Box Score

Wednesday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk Tides @ Memphis Redbirds, 6:05pm. Starting pitcher: TBD
• Bowie Baysox vs. Richmond Flying Squirrels, 6:35pm. Starting pitcher: TBD
• Aberdeen IronBirds @ Jersey Shore BlueClaws, Game 1, 5:35pm. Starting pitcher: TBD
• Aberdeen IronBirds @ Jersey Shore BlueClaws, Game 2. Starting pitcher: TBD
• Delmarva Shorebirds vs. Down East Wood Ducks. Starting pitcher: TBD