Orioles minor league recap 4/20: Mayo and Watson go deep in Bowie win

Triple-A: Rochester Red Wings (Nationals) 5, Norfolk Tides 0

Some days your offense just gets shut down, and this was of those days for the Tides. They had seven total hits, actually out-hitting the Red Wings, and one walk. It’s tough to score much when you go 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Joey Ortiz had three of the knocks himself, including a double. Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg added a hit each while Anthony Bemboom had a pair. Kyle Stowers worked the only base on balls.

Spenser Watkins started and went just three innings, serving up three runs on two hits and a trio of walks. Ryan Watson followed with two shutout innings. Then Chris Vallimont got stuck with two unearned runs after an Ortiz throwing error in the seventh extended the inning. Vallimont still struck out five across three frames, lowering his season ERA to 0.82. Morgan McSweeney worked a clean eighth.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 9, Altoona Curve (Pirates) 3

Bowie’s bats had no such problems in their win on Wednesday afternoon. They accumulated nine hits and 10 walks for their fifth win of the year.

César Prieto scored three times from the leadoff spot, working a pair of walks and two hits, including a double. Coby Mayo had a big day as well: two hits, two runs, two walks and his third dong of the year. Donta’ Williams drove in four runs, and Zach Watson knocked in three, two of which came on his second homer of the season. John Rhodes was 0-for-3 with two walks, a run scored, and a strikeout.

Carlos Tavera made his first start of the season. Over 4.1 innings he allowed two runs on two hits, three walks, and five strikeouts. Jensen Elliott was able to work out of Tavera’s mess in the fifth inning, loading the bases before inducing an inning-ending double play. But it was Connor Gillispie that snagged the win. He tossed four solid innings out of the bullpen, allowing a run on three hits, two walks, and two strikeouts.

High-A: JerseyShore BlueClaws (Phillies) 9, Aberdeen IronBirds 5

Jean Pinto had another intriguing performance. Over 4.2 innings the Aberdeen starter struck out seven but also walked three and allowed two runs on three hits. Carson Carter came in but struggled, allowing two runs on a homer in just one-third of an inning. Ignacio Feliz’s third stint in Aberdeen continues to be a tough one. He allowed three runs on three hits and five strikeouts over just two innings. Dan Hammer struck out all five of the outs he recorded, but did walk two and had two unearned runs. Hayden Nierman threw three pitches, all strikes.

Aberdeen’s offense had two standouts. Reed Trimble was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, a walk, and two runs scored. Ryan Higgins was also 2-for-3 with a three-run homer, and a double. Dylan Beavers added a double and a stolen base. Adam Retzbach tripled for the first time this year.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 7, Fredericksburg Nationals 4

The dynamic duo of Jackson Holliday and Samuel Basallo was back at it again. They combined for four hits, two runs, and two RBI. Douglas Hodo III got to share some of the spotlight though as he drove in three runs from the leadoff spot. Creed Willems and Adam Crampton also had two hits apiece, including a double for Crampton. Baltimore native Maxwell Costes was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored.

Delmarva used just two pitchers. Juan Núñez started and allowed two runs on four hits, two walks, and five strikeouts over five innings. Moises Chace relieved and threw the final four innings, allowing two runs on three hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts to nab the win.

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

• Norfolk: vs Rochester, 12:05. SP: Bruce Zimmermann (0-1, 3.72 ERA)
• Bowie: at Altoona, 6:00. SP: Justin Armbruester (1-1, 2.00 ERA)
• Aberdeen: vs Jersey Shore, 7:05, SP: Jake Lyons (0-0, 1.29 ERA)
• Delmarva: at Fredericksburg, 7:05., SP: Jared Beck (0-0, 6.43 ERA)