It was a winless night on the farm dotted with bad pitching, but at least the Norfolk offense looked good.
Triple-A: Charlotte Knights (White Sox) 9, Norfolk Tides 8
Remember that slow start that Coby Mayo had to the season? That is well and truly behind us now. He had another big game on Wednesday, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, three RBI, and a walk. Samuel Basallo added a pair of hits, including his third home run of the year. TT Bowens and Jordyn Adams hit one homer apiece as well. Dylan Beavers singled, stole a base, and drove in a run from the leadoff spot.
There was less to be excited about on the pitching side of things. Kyle Brnovich, the starter, had the best day of the bunch. Over five innings he allowed two runs on five hits, a walk, and four strikeouts. Colin Selby was smacked around in the sixth inning, coughing up fours on two hits and two walks. Raúl Alcantara wasn’t much better in his 2+ innings of work. He allowed three runs on eight hits, a walk, and two strikeouts. Rodolfo Martinez was brought in to try and clean up Alcantara’s mess, but it didn’t happen. He gave up a walk-off single from the lone batter he faced.
Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies) 6, Chesapeake Baysox 3
Chesapeake lost here despite out-hitting Hartford 7-5. They struggled to cash in on those baserunners, going just 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and got thrown out trying to steal three different times. Hudson Haskin doubled twice and drove in a run. Creed Willems doubled, walked, and scored a run. Adam Retzbach hit his first triple of the year and knocked in a run.
Trace Bright tossed four scoreless innings before things fell apart in the fifth. In that inning alone he allowed five runs on two walks and three walks, including a grand slam to end his outing on a sour note. Houston Roth worked 1.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Juan Nuñez came on, struck out the final batter of the seventh inning, returned for the eighth inning and lost the strike zone. He walked the first three hitters of the frame, gave up a sac fly to allow a run, and then was able to get out of things, with help from Juan De Los Santos for the final out.
High-A: Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays) 2, Aberdeen IronBirds 1
The best pitched game of the day in the organization belonged to the IronBirds. Four different pitchers combined to toss nine innings and strike out 10, although they also walked six. Ty Weatherly started and worked 4.1 solid innings, striking out five, walking three, and allowing one run. Jared Beck got the final two outs of the fifth inning. Juan Rojas followed with 3.1 decent innings (one run, three hits, three walks, three strikeouts, and one home run) to take the hard luck loss. And Alejandro Méndez recorded the final two outs of the evening.
Only one of Aberdeen’s six hits went for extra bases. Leandro Arias went 2-for-4 with that lone double and a run scored. Ethan Anderson, Ryan Stafford, Angel Tejada, and Aneudis Mordán were the others to collect a hit.
Low-A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Astros) 8, Delmarva Shorebirds 5
Here’s another affiliate that lost while out-hitting their opponent, 9-5. Cole Urman went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Kevin Guerrero also had two hits and a pair of RBI. Fernando Peguero went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. Edrei Campos walked and drove in a run.
It was a disaster in the field for the Shorebirds. They made four errors, which led to two unearned runs. But to be fair the pitchers didn’t do a great job of supporting themselves. They walked seven batters as a collective. Yeiber Cartaya started and worked 3.2 innings while allowing two runs on two hits, four walks, and five strikeouts. Bryan Bautista coughed up four runs (three earned) on two walks, two walks, and a strikeout over just two-thirds of an inning. Carter Rustad gave up two runs (one earned) over 1.2 frames. Deivy Cruz and Simon Leandro combined for two scoreless innings to close the book on the pitching staff.
Thursday’s Schedule
Norfolk: at Charlotte, 6:05 pm. Starter: Cameron Weston (0-1, 5.14 ERA)
Chesapeake: at Hartford, 7:10 pm. Starter: Ryan Long (2-0, 2.41 ERA)
Aberdeen: vs Bowling Green, 7:05 pm. Starter: Blake Money (1-1, 3.06 ERA)
Delmarva: at Fayetteville, 6:35 pm. Starter: Jacob Cravey (0-2, 3.12 ERA)