The Shorebirds and Tides earned wins in very different ways, while the Baysox and IronBirds both lost close games to begin their week.
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 3, Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 1
Starter Cameron Weston and the Norfolk bullpen combined to one-hit the Stripers as the Tides started the second half of the season with a W.
Weston allowed only four baserunners all game, and the only Gwinnett hit came via a 4th inning single. The Stripers scored their only run of the game in the 3rd after Jason Delay reached on a two-base throwing error, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a sac fly.
Weston ended his evening by retiring the last nine batters he faced as he took control of the contest. Putting up 6 IP, 1 R (ER) and 7 Ks, Weston had a fantastic bounce-back outing after giving up six runs in his previous start.
The Tides’ offense wasn’t explosive but was buoyed by three manufactured runs. They got on the board first in the 2nd via a rally that started with a Livan Soto single. Soto then swiped second and came around to score on a Jordyn Adams double.
Norfolk broke a 1-1 tie in the 3rd with some more base thievery. Vimael Machín led off the inning with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on an errant throw by the catcher. After a Heston Kjerstad walk, Jeremiah Jackson grounded into 6-4 fielders choice, driving home Machín and advancing to 2nd on a throwing error by the 2B. Jackson then stole third and scored the third run of the game on a Samuel Basallo sac fly.
It was a rough day for Tides’ bats trying to get the call-up to Baltimore. Kjerstad finished 0-for-3 with a walk, Emmanuel Rivera went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and Basallo was 0-for-2 with a walk and strikeout.
Double-A: Altoona Curve (Pirates) 6, Chesapeake Baysox 3
The Baysox let up two runs in both the 7th and 8th innings as the Curve stormed back for a come-from-behind win.
After falling behind 1-0 in the 1st inning, the Baysox used some small ball to tie the game in the 2nd. Adam Retzbach led off with a single, moved to third after singles from Carter Young and Anthony Servideo and scored on a Jalen Vasquez groundout.
Reed Trimble then gave the Baysox the full Rickey Henderson experience to give them a 2-1 lead in the 3rd. Trimble led off the inning with a single, stole second on a Tyler O’Neill strikeout, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sac fly. Trimble would later break a 2-2 tie with a solo HR in the 5th and finished Tuesday going 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
The 3-2 lead wasn’t enough to secure the win though, as Chesapeake’s bullpen faltered in the late innings. Baysox reliever Nate Webb took over in the 7th and gave up two runs thanks to two walks, two wild pitches, an RBI single and a sac fly. Things got even worse for the Baysox in the 8th, when Altoona scored two more runs on a throwing error by the LF, Vasquez.
Making the loss even worse was the poor performance by O’Neill in the first game of his rehab assignment with Chesapeake. The slugger went 0-for-3 with two Ks before being lifted from the game in the 6th inning.
High-A: Hub City Spartanburgers (Rangers) 4, Aberdeen IronBirds 3
TT Bowens went 3-for-4 with a HR on his rehab assignment and Juan Rojas pitched 5.1 strong innings, but it wasn’t enough for the IronBirds to come back as they dropped the series opener in Spartanburg.
The game between the IronBirds and Spartanburgers remained scoreless until the top of the 5th, when Bowens led off with a solo shot. That lead was short-lived, as Rojas gave up a two-out, RBI single in the bottom of the 5th to tie the game 1-1. Bowens would come through again in the 6th, doubling to center to score Griff O’Ferrall from first and give Aberdeen a 2-1 lead.
Rojas gave up a one-out single to Casey Cook in the 5th and was immediately pulled for reliever Trent Turzenski. The 24-year-old reliever allowed Cook to steal second and then saw him score after an Arturo Disla single. That closed out Rojas’ final line at 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB and 3 K, lowering his season ERA to 4.02.
Turzenski let the game fall apart in the 7th, giving up a walk, allowing the runner to advance on his throwing error and then giving up two singles that gave the Spartanburgers a 4-2 lead. Aaron Estrada got a run back for Aberdeen in the 8th with a solo HR, but the IronBirds couldn’t complete the comeback in the 9th.
Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 13, Carolina Mudcats (Brewers) 6
The Shorebirds scored 13+ runs for the second time all season and bludgeoned the Mudcats with 18 hits in an explosive, series-opening win.
The Shorebirds were led offensively by their breakout star, 20-year-old catcher Yasmil Bucce. The Venezuelan went 4-for-5 with two 2B, two R and five RBI. He delivered the Shorebirds’ first run of the game on an RBI double in the 1st and delivered Delmarva’s final three runs with a bases-loaded double in the 7th.
Bucce’s offensive outburst gives him 41 RBIs on the season, good for the fourth-most in the Carolina League. The left-handed-hitting catcher also ranks fourth in OPS, OBP and BB.
Orioles No. 23 prospect Thomas Sosa also collected four hits Tuesday, going 4-for-4 with four singles. Fernando Peguero delivered Delmarva’s loudest hit of the evening, blasting a grand slam over the right field fence in the 7th. Outfielder Nate George also collected three hits for the Shorebirds, finishing 3-for-4 with a 3B, three runs and an RBI.
Delmarva got excellent work from their first three pitchers, with Yeiber Cartaya, Ryan Cabarcas and Deivy Cruz combining for 8 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 6 BB and 7 K. The Shorebirds were in line for their biggest win of the season until Kenny Leiner allowed five runs in the 9th to make the Mudcats’ efforts look a little more respectable.
Wednesday’s Scheduled Games
Norfolk Tides vs. Gwinnett Stripers, 6:35pm ET (Roansy Contreras vs. Davis Daniel)
Chesapeake Baysox vs. Altoona Curve, 6:35pm ET (Nestor German vs. Blake Townsend)
Aberdeen IronBirds and Hub City Spartanburgers, 6:35pm ET (TBD vs. Josh Trentadue)
Delmarva Shorebirds vs. Carolina Mudcats, 7:05pm ET (Chipper Menard vs. Wande Torres)