Three doubleheaders splits and a Delmarva loss
Just as the Orioles played a doubleheader, so did most of their farm teams. The Norfolk Tides, Chesapeake Baysox, and Aberdeen IronBirds all played two. And like their big brothers in the majors, all three minor league doubleheaders ended in a split.
Minor league doubleheaders are just seven innings.
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 12, St. Paul Saints (MIN) 1 – Game 1
Offense was the star of this one as the Tides scored 12 runs on just eight hits. They took nine walks in the game, which helps.
The first two Tides’ runs scored on bases-loaded walks by Jordyn Adams and Hudson Haskin. Haskin had three walks in the game; two came with the bases loaded! Vimael Machín picked a more exciting way to knock in runs. His only hit was a three-run homer. Francisco Peguero knocked in four with a single and a bases-loaded double. Coby Mayo had two hits, including an RBI single. Samuel Basallo took an 0-for-5.
Cameron Weston pitched six one-run innings, which is very good. He allowed five hits and walked four, which is not ideal. The Saints had a ton of traffic on the bases as Weston had just one 1-2-3 inning. But the only run he allowed came on a home run by Mike Ford.
Triple-A: Saints 6, Tides 4 – Game 2
It was a back-and-forth game, as it seemed for every run the Tides scored, the Saints came back and tied. But two runs in the bottom of the fourth gave the Saints the lead for good. It was a bullpen game for the Tides, and all three pitchers allowed at least one run. Peter Van Loon, who gave up three runs on two homers, took the loss.
The Tides got on the board first with a Jud Fabian triple followed by a TT Bowens double. Chadwick Tromp provided all of the rest of the offense. He hit a two-run homer in the second inning and a solo shot in the fourth.
Fabian had two hits in the game; his OPS is up to .811. Coby Mayo was 1-for-3.
Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 3, Harrisburg Senators (WAS) 1 – Game 1
Levi Wells allowed one run on four hits in his four-inning start. He struck out six and walked two. The run scored in the second inning on a double and a single. Wells’s relief, Nate Webb and Gerald Ogando, put up zeroes to close things out.
The Baysox got on the board in the first inning. Jeremiah Jackson doubled with one out, then Silas Ardoin brought him home with a single. They added two more in the sixth inning. One came on a Frederick Bencosme double with a runner on, then Bencosme later came in to score on a fielding error.
Jackson and Bencosme both had two-hit dates, with both of Jackson’s being doubles. Enrique Bradfield, Jr. went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Double-A: Senators 7, Baysox 1 – Game 2
The Baysox took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning but it was all downhill after that. Douglas Hodo III started the game by being hit by a pitch, then came in on a Creed Willems single. They managed just five hits in the game, two of which came from number nine hitter Luis Valdez. Bradfield again went hitless.
Nestor German got roughed up in his five-plus innings of work. German had three separate two-run innings, though one of those runs scored on a Bencosme error. Bencosme made two errors in the game. German struck out seven, which is nice, but couldn’t keep runners off base with six hits and two walks.
High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 4, Wilmington Blue Rocks (WAS) 3 – Game 1
The IronBirds went into the bottom of the ninth inning down by a score of 3-0. Blue Rocks’ new pitcher Anthony Arguelles walked Leandro Arias and Reed Trimble, but then got the next two batters out. The game was all but over until Aneudis Mordán took a pitch over the wall for the three-run homer. Jalen Vasquez followed with a double, which set up Griff O’Ferrall to get the walk-off hit.
Eccel Correa pitched 5.2 innings with two runs and looked like he’d be the hard luck loser until the comeback. Correa limited the Blue Rocks to four hits and both runs scored on sacrifice flies. Zane Barnhart followed with 1.2 innings and one run allowed.
High-A: Blue Rocks 6, IronBirds 4 – Game 2
Cohen Achen started the second game for the IronBirds and while he struck out five in 2.2 innings, he also allowed five runs. Two came on a home run and the other three scored in an error-filled third inning.
Mordán, hero of game one, made two errors in the inning, the second of which led to two unearned runs. Achen wasn’t without blame, though; he gave up three hits and walk in the inning as well.
The IronBirds were kept off the board until the fifth inning, when Mordán walked and came in to score on a single by Austin Overn. Leandro Arias picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded walk. Arias had two more RBI in the seventh inning with a run scoring double. Arias had two of the team’s four hits in the game.
Low-A: Salem Red Sox 4, Delmarva Shorebirds 3
The only team without a doubleheader! Starting pitcher Yeiber Cartaya allowed three runs in 4.1 innings. He walked three and struck out three.
The Shorebirds took a 2-0 lead in the third inning courtesy of a Red Sox throwing error and a triple from Edwin Amparo. Down 3-2 in the sixth, they tied the game again, thanks in part to Amparo. He doubled, moved to third on a single, and scored on a sac bunt. The tie didn’t last long, as relief pitcher Kenny Leiner allowed the Red Sox go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh.
Today’s Schedule
- Norfolk @ St. Paul, 6:07. Starter: Chayce McDermott
- Chesapeake @ Harrisburg, 6:30. Starter: Braxton Bragg
- Aberdeen vs Wilmington, 2:05. Starter: Trey Gibson
- Delmarva @ Salem, 1:05. Starter: Luis De León