Orioles minor league recap 5/19: Nine-run rally not enough for Baysox

Jordan Westburg launched a solo shot but Norfolk failed to best several former Orioles. Bowie scored the final nine runs in a wild loss to Altoona.

Triple-A: Syracuse Mets 5, Norfolk Tides 4

Jordan Westburg launched a solo home run in the bottom of the first, but our old pal DJ Stewart evened the score with an RBI single in the third. Stewart eventually scored to cap a three-run third inning and crossed home plate again in the fifth.

Kyle Stowers drove in Connor Norby with a single in the sixth, and Lewin Díaz trimmed the deficit to one with a sacrifice fly. Stowers, Maverick Handley and Daz Cameron all finished 2-for-4. Handley drove in Anthony Bemboom to even the score in the seventh, but former Oriole Jonathan Araúz scored the winning run in the eighth for Syracuse.

Spenser Watkins started and pitched two innings after recovering from a cut on his throwing hand. Noah Denoyer allowed a pair of runs during one inning of work, and Ryan Watson allowed a pair of runs during five innings of relief. Kyle Dowdy worked a scoreless ninth.

Denyi Reyes—another former Bird—started for Syracuse and allowed a pair of runs over 5.1 innings. A 33-year-old T.J. McFarland surrendered six hits and two runs over 2.2 innings out of the bullpen.

Double-A: Altoona Curve (Pirates) 13, Bowie Baysox 11

Bowie scored the final nine runs of the game but failed to catch Altoona. The Curve scored the first 10 runs with nine coming over a two-inning stretch. Peter Van Loon produced two shutout innings before failing to complete the third. Kade Strowd struggled in relief, and Garrett Stallings allowed four runs in bulk relief.

The pitching left plenty to be desired, but what a rally by the Baysox batters. Cesar Prieto got Bowie on the board with an RBI single in the fifth, but he truly put the team on his back during a seven-run eighth inning. Prieto launched a grand slam that cut the lead to three and provided the Baysox a legitimate chance to come back and win the game.

TT Bowens did his best to match Prieto with a 3-for-4 effort. Bowens recorded his first hit of the game with a solo shot in the seventh inning. Somehow, he recorded multiple RBI doubles after the homer. Bowens plated Zach Watson to place Bowie within two, but Randy Florentino struck out with the potential tying run on base.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 4, Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox) 1

The IronBirds picked up the only victory for Orioles affiliates last night. Jackson Holliday finished 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored. Five different players recorded the five hits for Aberdeen. Silas Ardoin plated a pair with a single in the fourth, and Jud Fabian scored the final run on a double steal.

Alex Pham and Jake Lyons teamed up for eight innings of one-run ball. Pham started, struck out six, and did not allow a run over four innings. Lyons followed and limited Winston-Salem to two hits and one run over four frames. Lyons struck out eight and only walked one.

Carson Carter struck out the side in order to earn the save.

Low-A: Charleston RiverDogs (Rays) 11, Delmarva Shorebirds 7

Delmarva starter Bradley Brehmer allowed five runs in the first and eight runs total over 3.1 innings. Brehmer allowed 10 hits and all eight runs were earned. Yuck.

Angel Tejada recorded the only multi-hit game for Delmarva. Tejada put the Shorebirds on the board with an opposite field homer in the second.

Brayan Hernandez tied the game at five with a three-run homer in the fourth, but Charleston struck for four more runs in the bottom of the inning.

Box scores can be found here

Friday’s scheduled games:

• Norfolk: vs Syracuse, 6:35. SP: Drew Rom (4-1, 3.71 ERA)
• Bowie: vs Altoona, 7:05. SP: Chayce McDermott (2-2, 3.07 ERA)
• Aberdeen: at Winston-Salem, 7:00, SP: TBD
• Delmarva: at Charleston, 7:05, SP: Edgar Portes (3-2, 6.11 ERA)