Alex Pham pitched Bowie to a close victory, while the rest of the teams on the Orioles’ farm fell short.
Triple-A: Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals) 4, Norfolk Tides 1
There wasn’t a lot to get excited about in this one, unless you’re a Nick Maton superfan. The utility man led the Tides with two hits, including a solo homer in the ninth that averted a shutout. But the two big-name prospects of note, Jackson Holliday and Heston Kjerstad, went a combined 1-for-7, though Holliday drew two walks. Maton’s dinger was Norfolk’s only extra-base hit.
Jonathan Heasley made the start for the Tides and pitched decently, giving up two runs in 5.1 innings. Both runs came on solo homers, including one by erstwhile big leaguer Jordan Walker. Former Orioles prospect César Prieto, sent to the Cardinals in last year’s ill-fated Jack Flaherty trade, took an 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, though he’s got a solid .819 OPS overall for Memphis.
Double-A: Bowie Baysox 2, Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) 1
Alex Pham delivered an outstanding start in this one. You might even call it Pham-tastic, if you’re a dork like me who makes dad jokes. He tossed six scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, striking out six, and walking none. The 2024 season has been a struggle for Pham, the Orioles’ #24 prospect, but this was far and away his best outing of the year and hopefully a sign of progress. Dan Hammer put the hammer down with two scoreless innings of relief, and Keegan Gillies sweated through a ninth inning that featured a walk, a wild pitch, an error, and an RBI single to finagle the save.
Harrisburg’s lineup included three of the Nationals’ top eight prospects — Dylan Crews, Brady House, and Robert Hassell III — and Baysox pitchers held them to a combined 0-for-12 with four strikeouts. Nicely done.
Meanwhile, the Baysox offense collected 10 hits, but turned all those baserunners into just two runs. Fortunately, that was enough to eke out the win. Jud Fabian set the table with three hits out of the leadoff spot, including a ninth-inning homer, and Dylan Beavers reached base three times. Samuel Basallo was 1-for-5, while newly promoted outfielder Matthew Etzel went 1-for-4 in his Double-A debut. Etzel, who had 31 steals for Aberdeen, also stole his first base for the Baysox. Second baseman Max Wagner was hitless before leaving the game with back discomfort.
High-A: Hickory Crawdads (Rangers) 5, Aberdeen IronBirds 2
This was a 2-2 game heading into the ninth, thanks to Tavian Josenberger’s game-tying homer in the bottom of the eighth, but Hickory tagged IronBirds reliever Bradley Brehmer for three runs in their final at-bat to pull in front for good. Only one of the three runs was earned, thanks to an error by third baseman Carter Young.
The Bowie offense spread things around, as eight of the nine batters had at least one hit, but only one (Douglas Hodo) had more than one. Last year’s first round pick Enrique Bradfield Jr. was 1-for-4, as was catcher Creed Willems, who now has seven hits in his last five games. Hopefully he’s pulling out of the hellacious slump in which he was 6-for-62 (.097) in his previous 18 games.
Low-A: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox) 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 2
Just like the IronBirds, the Shorebirds were tied heading to the top of the ninth. And just like the IronBirds, they let the game slip away from them with a crooked inning, in this case a five-spot. Reliever Harif Frias was charged with all five runs in that fateful frame, though only three were earned. The Shorebirds committed five errors in this game, including at least one from each of their four infielders. Gotta clean up that defense; Delmarva has given up 65 unearned runs this year.
Well before the ninth-inning shenanigans, starting pitcher Braxton Bragg was solid, working four scoreless innings, but his team didn’t give him any run support. The Shorebirds managed only six hits — a double and five singles — and every batter in the starting lineup struck out at least once. One-time ballyhooed international prospect Maikol Hernandez, who in 2021 joined Samuel Basallo as the Birds’ first ever seven-figure amateur signings, made his Delmarva debut. The shortstop was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Wednesday’s scheduled games
- Norfolk: vs. Memphis, 6:35 PM. Starter: Justin Armbruester (1-5, 10.40)
- Bowie: at Harrisburg, 6:30 PM. Starter: Cameron Weston (2-3, 3.28)
- Aberdeen: vs. Hickory, 7:05 PM. Starter: Edgar Portes (3-0, 2.06)
- Delmarva: vs. Kannapolis, 7:05 PM. Starter: Daniel Lloyd (0-0, 0.00)