Orioles minor league recap 6/5: Johnson sets career high in Ks in Bowie win

The Tides, Baysox and Shorebirds all received excellent pitching performances while the IronBirds were no-hit in Brooklyn

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 4, Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Yankees) 2

The top of the lineup for the Tides delivered some big hits to back an excellent outing from Brandon Young in a win over the RailRiders. Jackson Holliday got the offense going immediately, leading off the bottom of the first with a double to right. Heston Kjerstad then moved him to third with a single and Billy Cook drove him home with an RBI infield single. Nick Maton then doubled that lead with a two-out single to left to drive home Kjerstad.

After Scranton Wilkes-Barre got a run back on a solo HR in the third, Norfolk restored its two-run lead thanks to some small ball. Maton and Blake Hunt hit back-to-back singles to lead off the fourth, and then moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Hudson Haskin then grounded out to drive in Maton and give Norfolk a 3-1 lead.

The RailRiders would get another run in the fourth, but from there Young and the Tides’ pen completely shut down SWB. From the fifth inning on, Young, Corbin Martin and Bryan Baker combined for five shutout innings, allowing only three hits while picking up two punchouts. Young finished with a final line of 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER and 4 K, completing six innings for the first time this season.

Hunt added a solo HR in the sixth for the Tides’ fourth and final run. He, Maton and Cook all collected two hits and an RBI, while Hunt led the team with five total bases. Hunt’s homer today was his second since joining the Tides in the trade that sent Mike Baumann to Seattle.

Box Score

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 4, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets) 1

Seth Johnson put forth his most dominant outing of the season as the Baysox beat the Rumble Ponies. The Orioles’ No. 10 prospect silenced Binghamton bats for four scoreless innings, allowing only one hit while punching out eight Rumble Ponies. The eight Ks is a career high since joining the Orioles organization and he now has 39 Ks in 35.2 innings.

The Baysox offense backed the effort from Johnson thanks to two early rallies. Bowie got on the board in the bottom of the second thanks to some big hits from Frederick Bencosme and John Rhodes. Bencosme hit a one-out triple to open up the scoring threat. Rhodes then took a 1-2 pitch and blasted it over the left-center fence for a two-run homer and a 2-0 lead. It was Rhodes’ first homer since April 24 and his third of the season.

Bowie followed that up with another two-run inning in the third. Anthony Servideo doubled to lead off the inning and then immediately came around to score on a Dylan Beavers’ single. Samuel Basallo then hit a single of his own and Beavers scored after a pair of productive ground outs.

The only blemish against the Baysox pitchers came in the top of the fifth, when Ryan Hennen gave up a solo HR to the very first batter he faced. From there, the Baysox bullpen only allowed one more hit while punching out five over five innings.

Box Score

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 3, Aberdeen IronBirds 0

The IronBirds were no-hit as the Cyclones threw the first no-hitter in team history. The only IronBirds to reach were Tavian Josenberger and Jalen Vasquez, who combined for three walks. The IronBirds’ best chance at a hit came from their very first batter, as Enrique Bradfield Jr. lined out to right field on a great play by Brooklyn RF Stanley Consuegra.

Consuegra delivered the Cyclones’ first run of the game in the second when he singled off the left field wall to drive home a runner from second. Brooklyn added another run in the second, and then took a 3-0 lead in the third when Jefrey De Los Santos homered to right for the Cyclones’ final run of the game.

Getting no-hit distracted from a good outing by the IronBirds pitching staff. Zane Barnhart, Graham Firoved and Bradley Brehmer combined to pitch four scoreless innings to close out the game and only allowed two hits after the fourth inning.

Box Score

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 6, Lynchburg Hillcats (Guardians) 3

The Shorebirds rode a pair of home runs from their middle infielders to series opening win over the Hillcats. SS Aron Estrada started for Delmarva on Tuesday, going 3-4 with a double, a HR and two runs scored. Estrada started a scoring threat in the bottom of the first when he reached on an error. He then stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single from Aneudis Mordán.

Delmarva starter Braxton Bragg gave up a two-run HR in the top of the fourth to give Lynchburg a 2-1 lead. Estrada’s double-play partner Angel Tejada took the lead back with a two-run shot of his own in the bottom of the fourth. Estrada then hit a solo HR in the fifth to extend the Shorebirds’ lead to 4-2.

The Shorebirds added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh and eighth to truly put the game out of reach. While Estrada and Tejada delivered the offensive fireworks, Bragg had a career day of his own. The 2023 eighth-round pick out of Dallas Baptist completed five innings for the first time in his minor league career and limited the Hillcats offense to just three hits.

Box Score

Wednesday’s Scheduled Games

Norfolk Tides at Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 6:35pm ET. (Tucker Davidson vs. Yoendrys Gómez)

Bowie Baysox vs. Binghamton Rumble Ponies, 6:35pm ET. (Alex Pham vs. Justin Jarvis)

Aberdeen IronBirds at Brooklyn Cyclones, 11am ET. (Preston Johnson vs. Jawilme Ramirez)

Delmarva Shorebirds vs. Lynchburg Hillcats, 7:05pm ET. (Danile Lloyd vs. Alex Clemmey)