Norfolk, Bowie and Aberdeen all utilized the long ball on their way to victory.
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 5, Durham Bulls (Rays) 4
Lewin Díaz blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Tides the lead for good. Díaz tied the game at three with an RBI single in the sixth and finished with three of Norfolk’s eight hits.
Joey Ortiz doubled and homered in four trips. Jordan Westburg launched his seventh homer and worked a walk. Connor Norby doubled twice, but Terrin Vavra went 0-for-4 from the leadoff spot.
DL Hall started for the Tides and did not allow a run over five innings. Hall struck out eight and limited Durham to only three hits. Unfortunately, Hall walked four batters and threw only 52 of 95 pitches for strikes. It’s difficult to argue with five scoreless frames, but the lack of control will not expedite his return to the big leagues.
Noah Denoyer allowed three runs in just two innings of work, but Reed Garrett struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to earn the save.
Double-A: Bowie Baysox 12, Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 4
Six of Bowie’s nine hitters recorded multiple hits in the blowout victory. Heston Kjerstad and César Prieto went deep, while Coby Mayo and Gilbert Lara both tallied three hits apiece. Kjerstad and Prieto finished 2-for-5.
Billy Cook, Noelberth Romero, Kjerstad, Mayo and Lara all doubled. Romero and Cook both finished 2-for-4.
Bowie actually trailed early after Justin Armbruester allowed a run in the first two innings. Armbruester lasted 4.2 innings with 3 runs (2 earned), 6 hits, 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. Connor Gillispie limited Erie to just one hit and one run in the final four innings of the game. Gillispie struck out two and issued a pair of free passes.
High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 9, Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 0
Aberdeen somehow recorded only six hits in a 9-0 victory. Eight of the nine runs came via the long ball, with the lone exception occurring when Luis Valdez raced home after Jackson Holliday successfully stole second.
Isaac De Leon, Maxwell Costes, Isaac Bellony, and Valdez all went deep for Aberdeen. Costes ripped a three-run homer and a solo shot, and Holliday recorded the only non-homer hit with a single in the ninth. The IronBirds walked five times and both teams committed one error.
Daniel Federman, a former minor-league free agent, struck out 10 and allowed only two hits in four innings. Jake Lyons struck out seven in three scoreless frames, and both Keagan Gillies and Nick Richmond tossed a scoreless inning.
Low-A: Carolina Mudcats (Brewers) 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 2
Carolina prevented a clean sweep on the farm tonight. Carter Young put Delmarva on the board with his first homer of the season in the first. Adam Crampton drove in the Shorebirds’ only other run with a double in the seventh. Young and Crampton combined for five of Delmarva’s six hits with Crampton finishing 3-for-3 on the night.
Wyatt Cheney, a 10th-round pick in 2022, allowed four runs in the first two innings. Cheney surrendered three hits and walked four. Hugo Beltran provided a brief bright spot with 2.1 perfect innings out of the bullpen.
Friday’s Schedule
- Norfolk: vs Durham, 6:35. SP: Cole Irvin (3-0, 4.24 ERA)
- Bowie: vs Erie, 7:05. SP: Cade Povich (2-1, 3.71 ERA)
- Aberdeen: at Brooklyn, 7:00. SP: Trace Bright (0-2, 5.79 ERA)
- Delmarva:vs Carolina, 7:05. SP: Deivy Cruz (2-0, 7.59 ERA)