The Tides scored a dozen and Delmarva lost twice
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 12, Memphis Redbirds (STL) 7
The Tides scored five runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back. The usual suspects did some damage. Jackson Holliday doubled and walked twice, Connor Norby had two hits, and Coby Mayo reached base three times with two singles and a double. But those three were not the biggest performers of the night.
Nick Maton hit two home runs including a grand slam. He knocked in half of the Tides’ runs. The recently signed Niko Goodrum, who has already played in the majors this season for the Rays and Angels, reached base five times with three hits and two walks. He knocked in two and scored two.
Starting pitcher Tucker Davidson pitched a mediocre five innings with three runs allowed. The other four runs scored in the eighth inning when Matt Krook gave up two home runs. One was by César Prieto, the former Orioles’ farmhand who was traded to St. Louis last summer for Jack Flaherty. Prieto is having a nice season in Triple-A with an .842 OPS and 11 home runs.
Double-A: Altoona Curve (PIT) 4, Bowie Baysox 1
Don’t blame the starting pitching! this game was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning. Starter Ryan Long pitched 4.2 shutout innings with one hit and two walks. Relief pitcher Dan Hammer allowed all four runs on just one swing. He allowed three straight singles followed by a grand slam.
The Baysox managed just one run despite going 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Matthew Etzel had the lone RBI with a single in the eighth inning. Etzel had a two-hit day but got himself picked off after his first hit. Jud Fabian and John Rhodes both had two-hit games with Fabian doubling.
High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 5, Asheville Tourists (HOU) 1
Trey Gibson’s high-A debut was a good one. He was promoted to the IronBirds after appearing in 16 games with the Shorebirds with a 3.40 ERA. In 5.1 innings pitched, Gibson didn’t allow a run or a walk. He gave up just four hits and struck out two. Gibson was signed by the Orioles last August after he went undrafted.
The IronBirds’ offense had just seven hits in the game but they made the most of them. Mac Horvath and Enrique Bradfield both homered in the game and Horvath added an RBI single. Douglas Hodo III and Noelberth Romero each had only one hit, but both were doubles with men on base.
Houston Roth, Zane Barnhart, and Yaqui Rivera combined to pitch 3.2 innings from the bullpen with just one unearned run scored. With two runners on, Barnhart gave up a double that allowed one run to score. The second runner attempted to score but was cut down at the plate by Reed Trimble. The run was unearned due to an error by shortstop Jalen Vasquez earlier in the inning.
Low-A: Lynchburg Hillcats (CLE) 5, Delmarva Shorebirds 1 – Game 1
Juan Rojas gave up two runs in four innings for the Shorebirds and took the loss in the first game of the doubleheader. He only gave up two hits, which is good. But he walked four, which is bad. One of his runs scored on a wild pitch. Eddy Alberto gave up the other three runs in just 0.2 innings pitched.
With only three hits and one walk in the game, the Shorebirds were frankly lucky to score at all. The one run they did score was manufactured by left fielder Alfredo Velásquez. Velásquez singled, moved to second on a wild pitch, stole third, and came home on a sacrifice fly by Braylin Tavera.
Low-A: Lynchburg 8, Delmarva 2 – Game 2
Starting pitcher Jacob Cravey gave up two runs in three innings, which isn’t great. But it doesn’t seem so bad when you see that he also walked five batters. It was relief pitcher Jiorgeny Casimiri who really fell apart. He faced six batters and only retired one. He walked two. He hit two. He balked twice! He allowed five runs to score in his very bad outing.
Both Delmarva runs scored in the top of the seventh, which is the final inning in minor league doubleheaders. A double from Velásquez and a fielding error put two runners on, where they scored on a groundout and a wild pitch. The Shorebirds had just three hits for the second time that day.
Today’s Schedule
- Norfolk @ Memphis, 2:05. Starter: Brandon Young
- Bowie @ Altoona, 1:00. Starter: Trace Bright
- Aberdeen @ Nashville, 1:05. Starter: Jackson Baumeister
- Delmarva @ Lynchburg, 2:00. Starter: Nestor German