Adley Rutschman, Ryan Mountcastle, and Keegan Akin all rehabbed for Norfolk, with mixed results.
Triple-A: Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies) 7, Norfolk Tides 1
Norfolk wins the Most Confusing Box Score award. This seems impossible, but the Tides had 17 baserunners — 13 hits and four walks — and scored only one run. How?? They averaged almost two runners per inning! Unfortunately they went just 2-for-9 with men in scoring position, and neither of those two hits scored a run. They had two runners thrown out at the plate, they grounded into three double plays (two by a rehabbing Adley Rutschman), and they stranded 11 men on base. This was a weird one.
Emmanuel Rivera went 4-for-4 and a rehabbing Ryan Mountcastle had three hits. Dylan Beavers was 0-for-3 but walked twice. Rutschman’s rehab was rougher. At the plate he was 0-for-4 with the two GIDPs, and defensively he allowed a stolen base and was charged with a passed ball. Samuel Basallo, a day after going 5-for-5, did not play.
I was surprised to see that Chayce McDermott pitched, as I assumed he’d be out for a long while after leaving his July 10 start with elbow discomfort. So it’s good news that he’s not seriously injured, but his performance in this game was a disaster: 1.1 innings, five runs, four hits, and two walks. McDermott turned a 1-1 eighth-inning tie into a blowout loss. But starter Roansy Contreras was good (5.1 IP, 1 ER), and a rehabbing Keegan Akin retired both batters he faced.
Double-A: Altoona Curve (Pirates) 6, Chesapeake Baysox 1
The Baysox, like the Tides, managed only one run. But in this case it was more understandable, since they had only four hits. Three of them were doubles, for what that’s worth. With Enrique Bradfield Jr. injured and Creed Willems not playing last night, there weren’t any real prospects in the Chesapeake lineup.
The Baysox do, however, have some pitching prospects, including Nestor German, who pitched a fine game. He worked a six-inning, two-run quality start and racked up 10 strikeouts, by far a season high (his previous best was seven Ks). A four-run Altoona eighth inning against Wyatt Cheney removed all doubt from the outcome.
High-A: Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox) 5, Aberdeen IronBirds 4 — 10 inn.
This game was a 3-3 deadlock after regulation, but the Dash tallied two runs in the top of the 10th and the IronBirds could respond with only one. The IronBirds could have ended the game before extra innings had they not gone an ugly 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11. The first three hitters in the lineup — Austin Overn, Griff O’Ferrall, and Aron Estrada — each drove in a run. Estrada also had a stolen base, his 30th in 36 attempts.
Lefty Luis De León worked a four-inning start, giving up three runs and five hits. He has gone less than five innings in 11 of his 13 starts this year. Relievers Walter Pennington and Ryan Cabarcas combined for five scoreless, hitless innings with seven strikeouts before Ben Vespi allowed the free runner (plus another) to score in the 10th.
Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 6, Lynchburg Hillcats (Guardians) 0
Thank goodness for the Shorebirds for preventing a winless night on the Orioles’ farm. Delmarva pitched a whale of a game, with four pitchers — Chase Allsup, Andy Fabian, Jared Beck, and Luis Beltrán — tag-teaming for a one-hit shutout. They combined for 11 strikeouts as well. Good stuff.
Shorebirds spark plug Nate George had a hit and stole two bases. George has 21 steals in 33 games for Delmarva, though he’s also been caught 11 times, so his aggressiveness isn’t always paying off. Luis Almeyda collected two doubles and Colin Tuft contributed an RBI triple.
Sunday’s scheduled games:
- Norfolk: at Lehigh Valley, 1:35 PM. Starter: Thaddeus Ward (6-6, 6.53)
- Chesapeake: at Altoona, 1:00 PM. Starter: Levi Wells (0-4, 2.50)
- Aberdeen: vs. Winston-Salem, 2:05 PM. Starter: TBD
- Delmarva: vs. Lynchburg, 5:05 PM. Starter: Sayer Diederich (0-1, 3.60)