Orioles minor league recap 4/14: Kjerstad finishes a triple shy of the cycle

Heston Kjerstad, Jean Pinto and Creed Willems led a mostly quiet night on the Baltimore farm.

Triple-A: Nashville Sounds (Brewers) 5, Norfolk Tides 2

Kyle Stowers drove in Norfolk’s first run with a single in the third. Stowers, Joey Ortiz and Colton Cowser all finished with a single, but Cowser also worked a walk. Hudson Haskin doubled in the second and finished with the only multi-hit game for Norfolk. Lewin Díaz and Connor Norby went 0-for-4.

Bruce Zimmermann took the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) in five innings. Nashville scored their first run after a Lewin Diaz throwing error, but Zimmermann allowed a two-run bomb in the third. He struck out five and walked two in the performance.

Cole Irvin is set to join the Tides while Spenser Watkins and Yennier Canó head to Baltimore. Zimmermann will need to minimize the long balls if he hopes to rejoin the Orioles this season.

Double-A: Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 3, Bowie Baysox 2

Heston Kjerstad finished a triple shy of the cycle in this one. He drove in a run with a double in the first, and his solo shot in the eighth marked his third homer on the young season. Cesar Prieto added a double, but Coby Mayo finished 0-for-5 with six men left on base.

Justin Armbruester allowed a pair of runs in four innings of work. The former 12th-round pick gave up four hits, walked three and struck out three. Connor Gillispie entered in relief and limited Akron to one hit and one walk in four innings. Gillispie struck out five.

High-A: Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees) 6, Aberdeen IronBirds 4

Jud Fabian provided Aberdeen a four-run lead with a single in the fifth, but Hudson Valley scored the final six runs of the game. Fabian drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly on a 1-for-3 day. Max Wagner finished 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. Dylan Beavers struck out twice in a hitless effort.

Reed Trimble left the game after a collision with the outfield wall. The guys at On The Verge tweeted that Trimble walked off on his own power, so hopefully the 22-year-old will return soon.

Jean Pinto struck out eight and limited Hudson Valley to one run in five innings. Ignacio Feliz allowed the majority of the damage (four runs in 0.2 innings pitched).

Low-A: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox) 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 5 F/10

Stiven Acevedo drove in Jackson Holliday to even the score in the bottom of the ninth, but the Shorebirds fell in extra innings. Acevedo led Delmarva with three hits, while Holliday finished hitless but did walk twice.

Creed Willems launched an opposite field shot over the left field fence for his third homer of the season. The two-run homer briefly gave Delmarva the lead.

Box scores from Thursday’s games can be found here

Friday’s Schedule

• Norfolk: at Nashville, 7:35. SP: TBD
• Bowie: vs Akron, 7:05. SP: TBD
• Aberdeen: at Hudson Valley, 6:05, SP: Jake Lyons (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
• Delmarva: vs Kannapolis, 7:05., SP: Alfred Vega (0-0, 20.25 ERA)