Orioles minor league recap 4/28: Cowser has big day, Mayo stays hot

Rutschman continues his rehab, offenses breakout in Bowie and Aberdeen, while the pitching staffs get bombed in Norfolk and Delmarva.

Triple-A: Gwinnett (Braves) 8, Norfolk Tides 2

Blaine Knight was on the mound in place of Kyle Bradish, who for now has moved his start to Friday. A tough first month of the year continued for Knight as he served up six runs on 13 hits, no walks, and one strikeout over 4.1 innings. His season ERA is up to 9.26. Marcos Diplán was the only Norfolk pitcher with a decent line: one inning, no runs, no hits, one strikeout. Matt Vogel, though, did strike out four across his two frames.

Patrick Dorrian and Robert Neustrom both had two hits, including a double apiece. Johnny Rizer added two singles. Kyle Stowers went 1-for-4. The RBIs came from Dorrian and Rizer.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 10, Richmond (Giants) 0

It was a fairly efficient night at the plate for Bowie. The lineup scored its 10 runs with 10 hits (plus nine walks) and went 6-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Gunnar Henderson was the star of the show as he went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. Jordan Westburg smacked his fifth homer of the year, a two-run shot. Cody Roberts drove in three runs with his bases-loaded double, and Zach Watson had a two-hit day.

Ryan Watson continues to dominate this year. The 6-foot-5 righty still has a spotless ERA after tossing five scoreless innings, allowing two hits, walking three, and striking out six. He was backed up by three zeros from Adam Stauffer and a no-hit ninth from Logan Gillaspie.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 10, Jersey Shore (Phillies) 1

Adley Rutschman went 0-for-4 as the DH in this one, but there were no strikeouts and he reportedly hit several long fly balls. I think he will be fine. Coby Mayo stayed hot with another home run and drove in four runs in his 2-for-5 performance. Colton Cowser quieted concerns with a 3-for-4 game that included both a double and a triple. Connor Norby doubled and walked.

Houston Roth twirled a gem on the mound. The righty earned his second win on the year with five scoreless innings while striking out four and not issuing any free passes. Following him was the rehabbing Rico Garcia, who recorded all six of his outs via the strikeout. Jensen Elliott closed up shop by allowing one run over two innings.

Low-A: Augusta (Braves) 14, Delmarva Shorebirds 2

It was a tough night all around for the Shorebirds pitching staff. No one escaped with an ERA lower than how they entered, apart from Carson Carter, who was only asked to record one out.

There wasn’t much more to be excited about on the offensive side of things. Josue Cruz was the exception as he walked three times and singled. Isaac Bellony, Darell Hernaiz, and Isaac De Leon all doubled. The two RBI came from Luis Valdez and the rehabbing Greg Cullen.

Something to look forward to in Delmarva is 2021 draft pick Creed Willems, who has been reassigned to the Shorebirds and should join them later this week.

Box scores for Wednesday’s games can be found here.

Thursday’s Scheduled Games

• Triple-A Norfolk: at Gwinnett, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Denyi Reyes (0-1, 31.50 ERA)
• Double-A Bowie: at Richmond, 6:35. Starting pitcher: Drew Rom (1-1, 3.00 ERA)
• High-A Aberdeen: vs Jersey Shore, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Justin Armbruester (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
• Low-A Delmarva: at August, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Juan De Los Santos (1-2, 1.38 ERA)