Orioles minor league recap 6/3: Norfolk and Bowie play home run derby

Norfolk walked off with a three-run shot and Bowie tallied three homers by the usual suspects.

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 7, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) 4

Norfolk scored all seven runs with three long balls. Tyler Nevin blasted a two-run shot in the first to get things started and Robert Neustrom followed with a two-run homer of his own in the same frame. Jacksonville tied the game in the seventh, but Patrick Dorrian launched a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth for a walk-off win.

Kevin Smith has struggled with his command this season and last night was no exception. Smith limited the Shrimp to just one earned run but walked five batters in four innings. Smith allowed three hits—including a home run—and struck out three.

Beau Sulser struck out five batters but allowed a pair of runs and six hits in 2.2 innings. Nick Vespi did not allow a run in the final 1.1 innings.

Double-A: Altoona Curve (Pirates) 13, Bowie Baysox 12

Bowie allowed nine runs in the second inning and failed to overcome the early deficit. Garrett Stallings worked a scoreless first before allowing eight runs in the second frame. Cameron Bishop kept Bowie in the game with three scoreless innings.

The offense had better luck with Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Maverick Handley all going deep. Henderson finished 2-for-4 with a walk, Westburg went 3-for-4 with a walk, and Handley tallied four hits in five at bats. Handley led the club in hits and matched Westburg with three RBIs. Davis Tavarez and Cesar Prieto each added a pair of hits in the high-scoring affair.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 2, Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees) 1

Aberdeen switched things up for the affiliates by winning a pitchers’ duel. Ignacio Feliz limited Hudson Valley to just two hits and one run. Feliz struck out seven and walked two in five innings. Rickey Ramirez and Xavier Moore combined for four scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

Aberdeen did not score until they took the lead in the eighth inning. A healthy Terrin Vavra plated the first run with a sacrifice fly and Aberdeen scored the winning run on a wild pitch. AJ Graffanino recorded two of the IronBirds’ four hits with Coby Mayo and Donta’ Williams adding the other two. Colton Cowser took a walk and struck out twice.

Low-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs) 11, Delmarva Shorebirds 5

Delmarva tied the game in the third with a three-run double by Trendon Craig, but the Shorebirds were never really in it after that. A pair of errors resulted in five unearned runs allowed by Delmarva.

Noelberth Romero added a two-run home run in the ninth inning.

Box scores for Thursday’s games can be found here.

Friday’s Scheduled Games

• Triple-A Norfolk: vs Jacksonville, 7:05. Starting pitcher: TBD
• Double-A Bowie: at Altoona, 6:00. Starting pitcher: Ryan Watson (2-1, 3.22 ERA)
• High-A Aberdeen: vs Hudson Valley, 7:05. Starting pitcher: TBD
• Low-A Delmarva: at Myrtle Beach, 7:05. Starting pitcher: TBD