Otherwise, Sunday Orioles minor-league baseball was forgettable, with one game rained out and the other three ugly losses.
Triple-A: Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 10, Norfolk Tides 2
After Cody Sedlock struggled on Saturday, it was Grayson Rodriguez’s turn to flail on the mound with 5 ER in 3.1 IP. Maybe a little struggle will be good seasoning for the big righty, since every other level has been so easy for him. Control, in particular, was an issue for Rodriguez on Sunday, with two walks and a HBP. In the second, he allowed four runs on three doubles, a single, and a walk, though he had some bad luck: Cristopher Céspedes was a bit of a butcher in the field, allowing two balls to drop that probably shouldn’t have. Catcher Chris Hudgins also dropped a swinging third strike to squander a potential second out. In the fourth, G-Rod got one out, then was pulled for Matt Vogel, who let an inherited runner score. Vogel himself pitched well otherwise, but Diógenes Almengo had a horrible day, allowing five runs in the seventh on a single to the vengeful spirit of Pat Valaika and a Little League home run aided by a catcher throwing error. Cole Uvila pitched a scoreless eighth, maintaining his perfect 0.00 ERA over 9.1 IP.
Both of Norfolk’s runs came courtesy of the guys who had bad days in the field: Chris Hudgins doubled to score Rylan Bannon in the fifth, and Céspedes singled in Cadyn Grenier in the ninth. Out of the top of the lineup, Robert Neustrom doubled and Kyle Stowers singled, but otherwise there wasn’t much production. The Tides’ 6-9 hitters—Grenier, Dorrian, Hudgins and Céspedes—each had a hit or more.
Double-A: Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants) 9, Bowie Baysox 1
The best news Bowie got on Sunday happened off the field: Adley is moving up and will continue his rehab with the Baysox week, along with lefty flamethrower DL Hall. (Too early for Rutschman big-league debut projections Some are starting to predict that he could make his debut with the Orioles as early as May 20.)
The game itself was a bit of a dud, however. Richmond’s winningly named Frankie Tostado owned Bowie’s Garrett Stallings on Sunday, with a double, a run scored, and a home run in the first four innings. Stallings allowed another two-run jack in the fifth. Logan Gillaspie gave up two runs in the sixth and Griffin McLarty surrendered two more long balls in the eighth.
The Baysox managed seven hits to Richmond’s nine, but only two went for extra bases, a Zach Watson double and another double by Dylan Harris (so hot right now!). Harris went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored on a J.D. Mundy sac fly. Hudson Haskin went 0-for-4, but he and Harris continue to OPS over 1.000 on the season.
High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 2, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 1 (suspended by rain; makeup scheduled for Jun 14)
Suspended after the third inning due to rain, this game somehow still featured 10 strikeouts between both teams: Aberdeen starter Rico Garcia pitched two scoreless with no hits, no walks and three K’s. In one inning of relief, Peter Van Loon allowed a BlueClaws run on a double and a single, with one K himself.
Meanwhile, IronBirds hitters have been a little alarmingly strikeout-prone of late. Colton Cowser, in particular, went 0-for-2 with two whiffs, while Adley Rutschman, T.T. Bowens, John Rhodes, Billy Cook each whiffed once. In his last game with Aberdeen, Rutschman hit a two-run sac fly, added by a throwing error on the Jersey Shore centerfielder.
Low-A: Augusta GreenJackets (Braves) 7, Delmarva Shorebirds 5
Delmarva has lost three in a row and 10 of their last 12. Growing pains, lads. It’d help if they could cut down on the errors. Last night’s starter, Shane Davis, pitched a decent five innings. He allowed four runs, but only two of them were earned (on twin solo dingers) and he struck out five. However, with Davis still on the mount, two errors in the sixth inning by shortstop Darell Hernaiz and right fielder Isaac Bellony allowed Augusta to score two more runs. Fourteenth-rounder Daniel Lloyd pitched two scoreless with two strikeouts, but Carson Carter had an ugly three-run eighth.
Through eight innings, Delmarva had just a lone Isaac Bellony dinger to their name, but they knocked in four in a crazy ninth featuring a Hernaiz triple, a two-run double from Ryan Higgins, a wild pitch, a HBP, and a bases-loaded walk. Hernaiz, batting around, whiffed with the bases load to extinguish a potential Shorebirds comeback. Creed Willems, the bemulleted catcher out of Texas, reached on a fielder’s choice and scored. In his first three games with Delmarva, he’s thrown out three baserunners. Not too shabby.
There are no scheduled games for Monday.