Orioles minor league recap 7/15: Mayo, Holliday debut at their new levels

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 11, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees) 3

Let’s call this one the “Build that trade value” game. Connor Norby, playing left field, led off the game with a home run, his 12th of the season. That’s his 10th home run since the end of April. He’s on a much better pace since then. Norby had two hits overall and drew a walk And you know who else had a great game? Shortstop Joey Ortiz, who began the second half of his season with a three-hit game.

These were hardly the only standouts, although they were the only Tides with multiple hits. Coby Mayo made his Triple-A debut in the game, collecting an RBI in his first plate appearance when he turned an 0-2 count into a bases loaded walk. Mayo had a two-run double later in the game. Heston Kjerstad was on base three times thanks to a hit, walk, and hit by pitch. That’s the good stuff.

Coming off a long layoff, the pitching staff was deployed a bit unusually, with planned short outings for Drew Rom and Justin Armbruester. Rom started the game but pitched only an inning - he walked a batter and struck out two. Armbruester added three scoreless innings, keeping the RoughRiders off the hits column and striking out five. Pretty good.

The game was tied in the mid innings as Noah Denoyer and Wandisson Charles combined to add three runs, but Norfolk dropped a seven-run seventh to grab the lead back and hold it for good. The Tides scored their 11 runs on only nine hits.

Tides box score.

Double-A: Akron (Guardians) 8, Bowie Baysox 6

Jackson Holliday’s Double-A debut! The 2022 #1 overall pick did not disappoint in his first action at this new level, collecting a pair of hits in five at-bats. The way the game played out, he neither drove anyone in nor scored when he was on base. Baysox hitters were 0-7 with RISP, which surely did not help them.

The loss for Bowie was in spite of outfield prospect John Rhodes jacking three home runs on the night - his sixth, seventh, and eighth of the year, all solo shots. Maybe he’s building his trade value too. Rhodes improved his OPS for the season to .796 after 62 games for Bowie.

Not everyone did so well. That’s why they lost. Fellow outfielder Jud Fabian took an 0-5 in this one, striking out four times. He managed to still end up on base even after one of those outs and was thrown out while trying to steal. Better luck tomorrow. Starting pitcher Jean Pinto, a fairly recent promotion to this level, also had a rough night, giving up four runs in four innings.

Baysox box score.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 15, Wilmington (Nationals) 2

How about “Creed Willems was a triple shy of the cycle”? Because he was! The young dude clobbered his seventh High-A homer in 31 games since getting promoted to Aberdeen and drove in five runs overall. He wasn’t even the IronBirds prospect with the most hits in the game, as third baseman Max Wagner had four hits, all singles, going on to score four runs in the game. Wagner has been pretty good since April, too.

Dylan Beavers also got in on this, with a double and a triple as well as a walk. He drove in two runs as well. Beavers! He leads currently active IronBirds in RBI with 41. Since-promoted Jud Fabian had 43 before heading to Bowie.

Making the start for Aberdeen was last year’s eighth round pick Cameron Weston, getting the start for the first time this season. Weston mostly scattered seven hits over a five inning start, allowing both of the Wilmington runs while striking out six batters.

IronBirds box score.

Low-A: Salem Red Sox 9, Delmarva Shorebirds 0

Not much to write home about for the O’s lowest full-season affiliate to end its break. The Shorebirds didn’t lack for chances, with seven hits and five walks for their batters, but they went 0-10 in RISP situations as they got blanked.

Last year’s draft’s big Orioles overslot signing, Carter Young, was the only Delmarva batter with a multi-hit game. He needs some more games like that to lift his season OPS above .656. As the catcher, Samuel Basallo had a hit in five at-bats, and threw out both runners who tried to steal against him.

Shorebirds box score.

Saturday’s Scheduled Games

• Norfolk: vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 6:35. Starter: Garrett Stallings
• Bowie: vs. Akron, 6:35. Starter: Alex Pham
• Aberdeen: vs. Wilmington, 7:05. Starter: TBD
• Delmarva: at Salem, 6:05. Starter: Bradley Brehmer