Orioles minor league recap 7/4: Zimmermann, Harvey look good in their Sunday starts

Norfolk bashed the Stripers, Bowie silenced the Flying Squirrels, and Aberdeen shut out Winston-Salem in Game 2 of a doubleheader.

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 6, Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 3

Bruce Zimmermann allowed all three of the Stripers’ runs in the first inning, then settled down to throw six shutout innings more. Although the early runs were all earned, they came on some bad batted ball luck and two Tides errors. All in all, it was a very encouraging day for ‘Zimm. He threw 93 pitches, 62 for strikes, allowed eight hits on the day (just four over the last six innings), walked none, and struck out six. Kevin Smith, in a closer role, threw two scoreless, walking one and striking out two.

The Tides spread the love on offense, with five Tides hitters knocking in RBIs tonight. Yusniel Díaz, back healthy, went 2-for-4 with a two-run bomb to the opposite field in the second. Here it is:

Kyle Stowers had a huge day, too, with three hits, including a homer and a double. Jacob Nottingham homered, too. Jordan Westburg! went 1-for-5 with an RBI double, and GUNNAR HENDERSON went 1-for-5 with an RBI single.

Box Score

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 5, Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants) 1

Turns out that former ace Matt Harvey has zero trouble retiring Double-A hitters. Harvey threw five shutout innings and allowed just four scattered singles while whiffing seven, including striking out the side in the third. Justin Ambruester got a four-inning save with one run, four hits and no walks allowed. Together, he and Harvey whiffed 15 Richmond hitters.

Catcher Maverick Handley and outfielder Zach Watson supplied most of Bowie’s runs on a pair of two-run long balls. Christopher Cespedes knocked in one more run with a single. Cody Roberts went 3-for-4 and Joey Ortiz had two hits. The rehabbing Ramón Urías had a quiet day at the plate, but Colton Cowser reached three times, with a single and two walks. César Prieto had a hit and a walk.

Box Score

High-A: Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox) 8, Aberdeen IronBirds 7 – F/10

The IronBirds and Dash made up a Saturday rainout, playing 17 innings of baseball on Sunday. In Game 1, a lot of offense couldn’t make up for the pitchers’ shortcomings. Winston-Salem jumped on Aberdeen’s Houston Roth (3.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 1 HR) and Dan Hammer (1.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 HR) early. Entering in the fifth, Thomas Girard had a decent outing (1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB), and Rickey Ramirez pitched three clean innings, striking out five. In just his fourth game with Aberdeen, Nick Richmond took the loss in an eventful tenth with a HBP, a guy thrown out at home, and a two-out game winning single.

Still, a good day for IronBirds sluggers. Shayne Fontana had a huge 3-for-4 day with two homers and five RBI. 3B Ryan Higgins (2-for-4) homered for the second straight day. Billy Cook went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs, a walk and a stolen base. And TT Bowens got on base three times with a single, double, and a walk.

Box Score

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 6, Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox) 0 – F/7

No drama here. The IronBirds hit two big home runs to romp to an easy 6-0 shutout win. Jean Pinto (3.91 ERA) threw four shutout innings, his only blemish four walks. Wes Robertson got the win with a shutout fifth inning in which he allowed a hit, walk, and struck out one. And it was a big night for Xavier Moore (1.74 ERA), a 16^th-rounder in 2017, who struck out five of six hitters he faced in two hitless, shutout innings.

A huge game for Darell Hernaiz and Billy Cook, who were behind all six of the IronBirds’ runs. Hernaiz, whom O’s MiLB podcast TheVerge calls a “highly overlooked” prospect, reached on a throwing error that scored Davis Tavarez in the second and hit a two-run homer. Here it is:

In the fourth inning, Billy Cook hit a three-run dinger that also involved Hernaiz as one of the baserunners. It was great day at the plate for Cook in both halves of the doubleheader, and for TT Bowens, too, who went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. Collin Burns also went 2-for-3 with a walk.

Box Score

Low-A: Fredericksburg Nationals 10, Delmarva Shorebirds 2

Starter Juan de los Santos had a short but dominant outing (here’s footage of the big guy whiffing folks), facing nine batters and striking out five of them (2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 K). But it was a mess after him: Ryan Long allowed four runs on four hits (two home runs) and four walks in 4.1 innings. And Joel Benítez allowed two home runs and six runs in the eighth inning. Sigh.

Singles machine SS Frederick Bencosme drove in both of the Shorebirds runs with an RBI single and brought his average up to .355 with two hits on the day. The Verge reports that Bencosme has a < 10% K rate; those are some good bat-to-ball skills. Here is Bencosme at work. Stiven Acevedo, just promoted from the GCL, also had two hits. 3B Noelberth Romero doubled in five trips. Catcher Creed Willems went 1-for-3, but is still OPS’ing .440. Heston Kjerstad, hit by a pitch on Saturday, wasn’t in the lineup today—maybe Kjerstad, who has a hit in 16 of 17 games with Delmarva, is about to get promoted.

Box Score

Monday’s scheduled games:

• Norfolk: at Jacksonville, 7:05 PM. Starter: Cody Sedlock (3-1, 6.50)
• Bowie: at Somerset, 7:05 PM. Starter: TBD
• Aberdeen: at Brooklyn, 6:30 PM. Starter: TBD
• Delmarva: vs. Salm, 6:35 PM. Starter: Miguel Padilla (Low-A debut)