Orioles minor league recap 5/20: Heston Kjerstad hits a walkoff grand slam

Every team but Bowie won, Norfolk in thrilling comeback fashion.

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 5, Lehigh Valley (PHI) 3 – F/12

Neither team scored a run until the eleventh inning, then runs rained down in the twelfth. Lehigh Valley plated two off reliever Nick Vespi, one on a throwing error by Connor Norby (CC’s #7 prospect). In the bottom of the inning, Heston Kjerstad (#5) came to the plate with the bases loaded, his team down two, and two outs. Nick Nelson fed him a first-pitch changeup and with one swing, it was game over:

Norfolk struck out 14 times to just seven hits, but I guess all is forgiven in a win? Norby finished with a double and a walk, Jackson Holliday (#1) went 1-for-6, and catcher Maverick Handley went 1-for-3 with two walks. Daniel Johnson had a pinch-hit single in the twelfth to keep the rally going for Kjerstad and keep his average at .278 with a .929 OPS.

With zeroes on the scoreboard for ten innings and 16 collective strikeouts, it’s safe to say Tides pitchers had a great day. Onetime Kansas City Royal Jonathan Heasley led off the masterclass with five innings of two-hit ball and five strikeouts. Kade Strowd, Corbin Martin, and Matt Krook each pitched 1.1 scoreless, Strowd and Krook impressing with four and three strikeouts each. Dillon Tate pitched a perfect ninth. No one allowed a run until Luis González in the eleventh.

In somewhat bittersweet news, it was announced before the game that Coby Mayo, out for several weeks with a fractured rib, was awarded Orioles Player of the Month honors along with his teammate Cade Povich, who won Pitcher of the Month. Mayo has a .291/.359/.605/.964 batting line in 42 games. Povich, meanwhile, is 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA in nine starts.

Box Score

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (NYM) 5, Bowie Baysox 3

This game was tied 3-3 in the eighth inning with two outs when reliever Nick Richmond gave up a home run to the first hitter he faced. The unfortunate at-bat saddled long man Cameron Weston with a tough-luck loss after a great 4.2 innings. Still, it’s been a good season so far for the 2022 eighth-rounder Weston, who’s got a 1.80 ERA in eight appearances. Starter Ryan Long went three innings, allowing three runs (two earned).

Fair to say the Baysox offense was spotty, with just six hits on the day divided between two top prospects: Dylan Beavers (#8) and Jud Fabian (#14). Beavers bumped up his average and the OPS with a 3-for-5 day that included six total bases and this game-tying blast in the fifth:

Meanwhile Fabian’s three-hit day included a two-run RBI double. Samuel Basallo (#2) went 0-for-2, lifted for Connor Pavolony in the fifth with dizziness.

Box Score

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks (WAS) 2

The IronBirds jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back. The scoring began with a first-inning RBI single by Matthew Etzel, who drove home centerfielder Elío Prado. Prado drove in Aberdeen’s second and third runs with a two-run home run. Douglas Hodo homered from the eight spot to make it 4-0 in the eighth inning, and the IronBirds added a fifth and final run on a Prado double and an RBI single from Mac Horvath (#12). Prado came within a triple of the cycle. Enrique Bradfield (#6) did not play.

Lately runs have been hard to come by for the IronBirds, but five was more than enough to support a dominant Edgar Portes, who tossed five scoreless with six strikeouts. This is the second start of the season for Portes, who’s been in a mixed starter/long-man role, and so far so good: he’s got a 2.35 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 37 K’s in 30 IP. Dan Hammer gave a run back in the sixth inning, and so did Deivi Cruz in the eighth, but Luis Sánchez and Yaqui Rivera threw a scoreless inning each, Rivera earning his second save.

Box Score

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 2, Lynchburg Hillcats (CLE) 1

Another excellent day on the mound for an O’s affiliate. Delmarva pitchers didn’t allow a run until the ninth inning. Putting up much-needed bounceback outings were starter Blake Money and seven-footer Jared Beck. Money tossed four scoreless and Beck two. Jiorgeny Casimiri and Alejandro Méndez each threw a shutout inning and despite allowing a run on a walk and two hits, Grabiel Salazar secured the save.

There wasn’t a lot of offense in this pitcher’s duel, but Delmarva pushed across just enough runs to win. From the top of the lineup Thomas Sosa (#27) went 1-for-4 and scored on a bunt single by Noelberth Romero. Catcher Aneudis Mordán hit a game-winning solo shot in the seventh, his fifth of the year.

Box Score

Tuesday’s Schedule

• Norfolk @ Worcester, 6:05. Starter: TBD
• Bowie vs. Richmond, 6:05. Starter: TBD
• Aberdeen vs. Jersey Shore, 7:05. Starter: TBD
• Delmarva vs. Columbia, 11:05. Starter: TBD