Two Orioles affiliates came back in the ninth, two walked it off, and down in the FCL, there was a big beatdown.
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 5, Jacksonville (Marlins) 3 – 10 innings
Norfolk was being shut out headed into the eighth inning, until Terrin Vavra finally got them on the board with a solo home run. They completed the comeback in the ninth with catcher Samuel Basallo – he was really catching last night – launching a home run over the center field fence to score two runs and tie everything up at 3-3.
That’s the 18th homer of the year for Basallo in only 60 games played, and he’s OPSing .970 overall. It’s good. Pumping the brakes on the hype just a tiny bit, he allowed two stolen bases and had a throwing error. There is probably still some real defensive work to be done here. But if you think he might as well start learning things in MLB, I don’t blame you.
Vavra had three of Norfolk’s seven hits and was responsible for driving in the go-ahead run in extra innings. Dylan Beavers took an 0-5, while Heston Kjerstad, who’s dropped to sixth in the batting order, was 0-4.
Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 3, Reading (Phillies) 2 – 10 innings
Another Orioles affiliate, another ninth inning comeback, another extra innings win. For Chesapeake, a ninth inning rally that included a contribution from Creed Willems (1-4 on the night) saw first baseman Adam Retzbach deliver the game-tying hit with no one out. The Baysox ended up with men on second and third later in the inning, still with no one out, but could not score, so into extra frames it went. It took two hits before they managed to score the Manfred Man with two outs. Cole Urman came through with the walkoff hit.
The starting pitcher for Chesapeake in this one was Blake Money, a semi-interesting prospect, depending on how thorough you want to be in knowing Orioles minor leaguers. Money struck out eight batters over four innings, though the Fightin Phils tagged him for a pair of solo homers while he was in the game. Overall, Money allowed four hits and three walks and it took him 85 pitches to get through four. This was just his fifth Double-A start.
High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 3, Jersey Shore (Phillies) 1
This was a 1-1 game headed into the bottom of the ninth. Aberdeen’s Griff O’Ferrall, the second Orioles draft pick last year, led off the inning with a single. One batter later, my guy Aron Estrada walked it off and sent everybody home with a dinger to end it. For each of these guys, it was his first hit of the game. They delivered when they needed to. Estrada has a .775 OPS for the season, which for the South Atlantic League is a fantastic batting number, especially for a 20-year-old.
Aberdeen’s offense only had five hits in this game, but thanks to an excellent combo effort by Zach Fruit (1 ER, 7 K in 4 IP) and Cohen Achen (five scoreless, no hits, no walks, six strikeouts), that proved to be enough. Fruit is here on a rehab assignment. His normal level is Double-A. It only took him 60 pitches to get through the four innings. I hope he can keep this momentum going once he returns to the Baysox.
Low-A: Fayetteville (Astros) 8, Delmarva Shorebirds 6
A sloppy one for the Shorebirds. They gave up an early grand slam and eventually rallied to take a 5-4 lead before giving back the lead. Delmarva committed two errors and saw bulk reliever Sayer Diederich – a guy whose name I’ve never seen before this moment – uncork three wild pitches and a balk while allowing four runs (three earned) over five innings. Diederich also hit a batter.
On the plus side, some of the young and interesting players for Delmarva made some contributions on offense. This included recent outfield sensation Nate George, who drove in two runs over the course of the game. Yasmil Bucce tripled in five at-bats, and infielder Joshua Liranzo was on base twice with a hit and a walk. Infielder Francisco Peguero led the way with three hits. He also stole three bases.
Bonus Florida Complex League
Making a note of this mostly because the Orioles affiliate stomped on the Pirates, 19-2. This included the O’s minor leaguers racking up 18 hits and 12 walks, and delivering 11-25 hitting with runners in scoring position all without hitting a home run. First baseman Juan Ortega’s four hits led the offense, and outfield prospect Stiven Martinez topped the list with five runs batted in over a three-hit game.
Saturday’s Scheduled Games
- Norfolk: at Jacksonville, 6:35. Starter: Cameron Weston
- Chesapeake: vs. Reading, 5:05 doubleheader. Starters: Trace Bright, Ryan Long
- Aberdeen: vs. Jersey Shore, 7:05. Starter: Michael Forret
- Delmarva: at Fayetteville, 7:05. Starter: Chase Allsup