The Baysox and IronBirds picked up convincing wins on Tuesday, while the Tides and Shorebirds suffered come-from-behind losses.
Triple-A: Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 5, Norfolk Tides 4
The Tides allowed four runs in the seventh inning as the Stripers came from behind to steal the opener in Gwinnett. Norfolk got out to an early lead thanks to contributions from a new face. Terrin Vavra led off the inning with a single to center and moved to second on a groundout from Jean Segura. With two outs, recent acquisition J.D. Davis doubled to center, bringing Vavra home and establishing a 1-0 lead.
Gwinnett tied the game in the third after loading the bases on a flurry of singles before scoring on a sac fly. The game would remain tied until an offensive outburst from the Tides in the fifth. Livan Soto tripled to right to lead off the inning and Vavra singled through the ride side two batters later to bring home the SS. With the bases loaded and no one out, Daniel Johnson grounded into a double play, allowing Hudson Haskin to score from third.
Norfolk further extended the lead in the sixth. Nick Maton hit the Tides’ second triple of the game, giving them a runner in scoring position with one out. Blake Hunt immediately capitalized on the opportunity, lifting a sac fly to center to give the Tides a 4-1 lead.
That lead wouldn’t be enough though thanks to a shaky Tides debut for right-hander Nick Avila. The former member of the Giants organization took over for Norfolk in the bottom of the seventh and quickly got two outs sandwiched around a walk. Gwinnett C Chadwick Tromp then doubled to left to give the Stripers two runners in scoring position. Drake Baldwin singled to bring home both runners and cut the lead to one. After Avila allowed another single, the Tides turned to the game over to Dillon Tate. The former Oriole reliever allowed a double to the first batter he faced and both inherited runners came around to score.
Suddenly down 5-4, the Tides would get a runner to second with two outs in the eighth, but failed to bring him home. They’d get even closer to tying the game in the ninth, getting Haskin to third with two outs. Segura couldn’t play the hero, though, grounding out to third to seal the Gwinnett win.
Double-A: Bowie Baysox 5, Altoona Curve 0 (Pirates)
The Bowie bats put runs on the board early and the Baysox never looked back in their win over the Curve. The top of the lineup really came to play for Bowie as outfielders Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Jud Fabian combined for four hits. Making his Double-A debut, Bradfield led off the game with a walk setting things up for the powerful Fabian. The Eastern League’s home run leader then launched a 2-0 pitch over the right field wall to give Bowie a 2-0 lead.
Jud Fabian retakes the Eastern League lead with his 18th homer of the year! pic.twitter.com/yCdGjLScW3
— Bowie Baysox (@BowieBaysox) August 13, 2024
Fabian would add to his RBI total thanks to some small ball in the second inning. John Rhodes led off with a single and Anthony Servideo was hit by a pitch. Bradfield bunted both runners into scoring position, allowing Fabian to drive home Rhodes with a sac fly.
The two top-15 prospects helped Bowie grow the lead even further in the fourth. Tavian Josenberger led off the inning with single and moved to third on back-to-back groundouts. Bradfield then picked up his first Bowie RBI, singling through the right side to bring in Josenberger. Fabian added his fourth RBI of the game with a double to left that scored Bradfield. The two outfielders finished a combined 4-7 with three runs and all five Bowie RBIs.
The offensive showcase by Bradfield and Fabian supported an excellent start from former 19th-round pick Alex Pham. The right-hander put up five shutout innings, holding the Curve to only three singles and striking out six. It’s the second consecutive scoreless start for the 24-year-old, who now has a 0.60 ERA across three starts in August.
High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 6, Greenville Drive (Red Sox) 2
The bottom of the IronBirds lineup drove them to victory Tuesday in an opening matchup with the Drive. Aberdeen opened the scoring in the second inning with a little bit of small ball.
Creed Willems led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a groundout from Carter Young. Jake Cunningham then singled to left to drive home Willems and give the IronBirds a 1-0 lead. Cunningham later scored from third on a double steal to grow the lead to two runs.
After Greenville got a run back in the top of the third, Aberdeen was able to expand the lead in the sixth. Cunningham led off with a single, then stole second and moved to third when the catcher’s throw found its way into center field. With two outs, No. 9 hitter Adam Retzbach singled to score Cunningham. Aron Estrada followed that with a double to right, allowing Retzbach to come home and growing the lead to 4-1.
Greenville cut the lead to 4-2 after an RBI double in the eighth, only for the IronBirds to come back with two more runs in the bottom of the inning. Cunningham once again started the rally, this time with a walk. The IronBirds would load the bases on an infield single and a hit by pitch, then Retzbach forced in a run on walk. Estrada grounded into a double play that saw Leandro Arias score the sixth and final run. The IronBirds 6 through 9 hitters combined to go 6-11 with five runs, five walks and three RBIs.
The IronBirds also got a strong start from 22-year-old righty Trey Gibson. The former Liberty Flame threw 4.2 innings, allowing only three hits and one run while striking out four. In five appearances since being promoted to High-A, Gibson has compiled 14.2 IP, a 4.29 ERA and 18 Ks.
Low-A: Carolina Mudcats (Brewers) 2, Delmarva Shorebirds 1
The Shorebirds gave up a pair of runs late and the bats couldn’t get much going in a series-opening loss to the Mudcats. Early on Delmarva got excellent pitching from starter Ty Weatherly. The 23-year-old from Ball State worked around a two-out single in the first to post a scoreless opening frame.
Weatherly then put up 1-2-3 second inning before the Mudcats ran themselves into another scoreless inning in the third. Carolina led off the bottom of the third with a single to left, only for the runner to be thrown out at second. After a single and the ground out, Delmarva escaped the inning thanks to an inning-ending caught stealing. Weatherly put up another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth to put up four scoreless, tying his longest scoreless outing of the season.
While Weatherly was dealing, the Shorebirds took the lead thanks to some aggressive baserunning. Colin Tuft led off the fourth inning with a walk and then stole second. After Tuft moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt, fellow 2024 draft pick Griff O’Ferrall picked up his first professional RBI on a groundout to third.
Up 1-0, Delmarva turned the ball over to Justin Showalter. Last time out, the right-hander from James Madison allowed only one run (unearned) over 4.1 innings. Tuesday didn’t go as smoothly for Showalter as the 25-year-old allowed the Mudcats to come back late. In the top of the seventh, Carolina 1B Eric Bitonti launched a solo HR over the right-center to tie the game at 1-1. Then, in the eighth, Yhoswar Garcia singled on a bunt, moved to second on a throwing error, stole third and came home on a double by Reece Walling, giving Carolina a 2-1 lead.
Delmarva got a runner in scoring position with no outs in the bottom of the eighth, but couldn’t drive him home after a groundout and a pair of strikeouts. The Shorebirds would go down in order in the ninth to seal the win for the Mudcats.
Wednesday’s scheduled games
Norfolk Tides at Gwinnett Stripers, 7:05pm ET (TBD vs. TBD)
Bowie Baysox at Altoona Curve, 6:00pm ET (Peter Van Loon vs. Anthony Solomento)
Aberdeen IronBirds vs. Greenville Drive, 7:05pm ET (Zach Fruit vs. TBD)
Delmarva Shorebirds vs. Carolina Mudcats, 7:05pm ET (Riley Cooper vs. Jason Woodward)