Chayce McDermott looked sharp in his first Triple-A start of the season, and the Tides offense gave him 11 runs of support.
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 11, Charlotte Knights (CHW) 1
Even with a lineup that didn’t feature top prospects Coby Mayo (who was promoted to Baltimore) and Samuel Basallo (who had the day off), the Tides’ offense exploded. Norfolk took a 5-0 lead after the first five batters of the game, thanks to a single, a catcher’s interference, a Vimael Machín RBI double, a walk, and a Luis Vázquez three-run homer. The Tides added four runs in the fourth and two in the seventh to turn it into a laugher. Leadoff man Dylan Beavers had a nice day with three hits, including a double, and Machín drove in three.
It was a promising outing for a rehabbing Chayce McDermott, who threw four scoreless innings, struck out three, and walked just one. A couple more starts like that and McDermott could be a candidate for the Orioles’ rotation. But even more impressive was reliever Thaddeus Ward, who retired all 12 batters he faced, striking out seven. Nice job by Ward, who’d been otherwise unremarkable this season until that outing.
Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 6, Hartford Yard Goats (COL) 5
Eight of the nine Chesapeake batters had a hit in a well-balanced offensive attack. Creed Willems and Jalen Vasquez each had two, including a double for Willems and a dinger for Vasquez. Silas Ardoin was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.
On the mound, starter Cohen Achen went 4.1 innings and held Hartford to one run, and reliever Peter Van Loon worked 2.2 scoreless.
High-A: Bowling Green Hot Rods (TB) 4, Aberdeen IronBirds 3
The IronBirds fell behind 4-0 early, and their attempt to claw their way back into the game came up just short. Walter Pennington, whom the O’s claimed on waivers from Texas on April 28, made his organizational debut and it did not go well. The lefty retired only two batters while walking two and allowing a hit, with all three runners scoring.
Trey Gibson handled the bulk relief work and was impressive, striking out 10 batters in 4.2 innings. The only hit he allowed was a home run by former O’s prospect Mac Horvath, who was part of the Zach Eflin trade last year.
On offense for Aberdeen, Aron Estrada tried to be a spark plug in the leadoff spot with three hits and two steals, but nobody behind him was able to drive him home. Vance Honeycutt took an 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. At the bottom of the lineup, first baseman Aneudis Mordán went 3-for-4 and hit his first home run of the year.
Low-A: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (HOU) 10, Delmarva Shorebirds 5
The Shorebirds, who have one of the lowest home run totals in the minors, shockingly led off this game with back-to-back homers by center fielder Braylin Tavera and catcher Yasmil Bucce. But the highlights ended there as Delmarva was outscored 10-3 for the rest of the game and committed a pair of errors that led to two unearned runs.
Starter Michael Caldon gave up three runs in three innings, and reliever Bryan Bautista had a rough go of things, allowing four runs in the fifth to squander a 4-3 Shorebirds lead.
Sunday’s scheduled games:
- Norfolk: at Charlotte, 1:05 PM. Starter: Trevor Rogers (0-1, 21.60)
- Chesapeake: at Hartford, 1:10 PM. Starter: Braxton Bragg (0-1, 2.16)
- Aberdeen: vs. Bowling Green, 2:05 PM. Starter: Michael Forret (1-0, 1.66)
- Delmarva: at Fayetteville, 5:05 PM. Starter: Chase Allsup (1-3, 7.47)