Orioles minor league recap 6/15: Kjerstad has big day at the plate for Norfolk

Triple-A: Worcester Red Sox 13, Norfolk Tides 5

Norfolk used five different pitchers, and none of them had a good night. DL Hall was, perhaps, the most noteworthy. He allowed two runs on three hits, three walks, and four strikeouts over three innings. Joey Krehbiel served up two homers in his two innings of work, and Nick Vespi allowed a solo shot.

The Tides lineup did some good things in this game. They had 11 hits and three walks. Heston Kjerstad went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and two runs scored. Colton Cowser had a pair of singles. And Daz Cameron homered for the 10th time.

Double-A: Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants) 5, Bowie Baysox 1 - Game 1

Mychal Givens is back to rehabbing after two weeks off. The righty was saddled with the loss after allowing one run on two hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. Connor Gillispie struck out five over 3.2 innings but was bitten by the two home runs he allowed. Tyler Burch went two frames, allowed a run, and struck out two.

Billy Cook was the only member of the Baysox lineup with a standout day. The right fielder went 2-for-3 with a home run and a stolen base. Coby Mayo and Zach Watson added a single each. The team had just one at bat with a runner in scoring position all game.

Double-A: Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants) 2, Bowie Baysox 0 - Game 2

Talk about a brisk pace. It took the Flying Squirrels and the Baysox just one hour and 25 minutes to play all seven innings of this one.

Much of that speed was aided by Bowie’s bad evening at the plate. They had just three hits and didn’t work any walks. The lone hits were singles from Cook, Mayo, and César Prieto. Donta’ Williams stole second to set up the squad’s lone at-bat with a runner in scoring position. It was ugly.

The performance of Justin Armbruester eased some of that pain though. The big righty tossed an abbreviated complete game on 81 pitches. In those seven innings he struck out three and walked one while being charged with seven hits and two earned runs. His season ERA sits at 2.47.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 5, Aberdeen IronBirds 4

There were some positives on both sides of the ball in this Aberdeen loss. First, there’s Jackson Holliday. He had a pair of singles and a walk. The first overall pick from a season ago continues to crush it. But he wasn’t alone. Dylan Beavers smacked his fifth homer of the year. Isaac De León had a double. And Luis Valdez was everywhere, singling twice, stealing two bases, and then also being picked off and thrown out trying to steal.

The IronBirds first six innings of pitching were not ideal. Daniel Lloyd and Cooper Chandler combined to allowed five runs on 11 hits in six innings. But the late-inning arms kept it close as Dylan Heid, Ignacio Feliz, and Keagan Gillies threw a shutout inning each and struck out five in the process.

Low-A: Salem Red Sox 7, Delmarva Shorebirds 1 - Game 1

Another quiet game on offense. Delmarva’s only run was the very first batter of the game. Trendon Craig led off with a solo homer, and that was all she wrote. The Shorebirds had three total hits and three walks. Isaac Bellony and Ryan Higgins had a double apiece. Samuel Basallo worked a walk and stole a base.

Wyatt Cheney took the loos after allowing four runs on five hits, two walks, and four strikeouts over four innings. César Álvarez then let the game slip away entirely with a rough one-third of an inning that saw three runs score. But at least Randy Berigüete had a nice day, getting out of Álvarez’s mess and tossing 1.2 scoreless innings of relief.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 3, Salem Red Sox 1 - Game 2

It took until the final game in this recap, but the O’s affiliates did manage to win a game last night.

This was a great all-around performance from the Delmarva pitching staff. Jared Beck struck out seven over four shutout innings. He then handed the ball to Hugo Beltran, who struck out four more and allowed one unearned run after a wayward throw from Adam Crampton in the sixth prolonged the inning. Yaqui Rivera was the final pitcher to trot in from the ‘pen, and he also did well: 1.1 innings, no runs, one strikeout.

Despite the top-third of the lineup going 0-for-9, the Delmarva offense was still able to eke out the win. All of their scoring came in the second inning. Following a pair of singles from Anderson De Los Santos and Randy Florentino, Crampton doubled to score De Los Santos. After a fielder’s choice from Erison Placencia, Luis Gonzalez singled in Crampton. A wild pitch moved Placencia to third base, and he scooted in to score on an Angel Tejada base knock.

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

• Norfolk: vs Worcester, 12:05. SP: Grayson Rodriguez (2-0, 2.81 ERA)
• Bowie: vs Richmond, 6:35. SP: TBD
• Aberdeen: vs vs Brooklyn, 7:05, SP: Trace Bright (0-3, 5.40 ERA)
• Delmarva: at Salem, 7:05, SP: Deivy Cruz (4-1, 5.22 ERA)
• DSL Orange, DSL Black, and FCL teams also play today