Orioles minor league recap 8/15: Peter Van Loon leads Bowie to win

The Baysox were the lone winners down, but it wasn’t all good news as Samuel Basallo had to leave the game early after being hit by a pitch.

Triple-A: Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 13, Norfolk Tides 3

At least Nick Maton had a good game! At the plate he went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, and two RBI. Later, things were so out of hand that the utility-man found himself on the mound. He faced one batter (former big leaguer Yuli Gurriel) and threw him three 50-ish mph pitches to get him to fly out.

There was less good news for the rest of the team, although it wasn’t entirely lacking. Daniel Johnson collected three hits, including a double. Jean Segura singled and stole a base. Livan Soto worked a pair of walks.

Norfolk needed seven pitchers (if you count Maton) to get through eight innings. Most of them struggled mightily. Cole Irvin walked four and gave up two runs over 2.2 innings. Luis González surrendered two runs on five hits across his two innings. Corbin Martin and Bruce Zimmermann were the bright spot. They combined for 2.1 shutout innings. Nick Vespi had a real tough day, allowing six runs and recording only one out. Kade Strowd coughed up a pair of runs. In total, Norfolk pitchers issued 12 walks and allowed 14 hits. In that context, they were somewhat lucky to have only given up 13 runs.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 6, Altoona Curve (Pirates) 1

Patience was on full display for Bowie as they worked 12 walks in a winning effort. Jud Fabian and Ryan Higgins led the way with three walks apiece. Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Dylan Beavers both earned two bases on balls. Beavers was also responsible for two of Bowie’s three hits, and he drove in two runs. Reed Trimble made his Double-A debut and appropriately doubled to knock in three runs. Samuel Basallo did start this game at first base but was removed in the first inning after being hit by a pitch on the left forearm. There’s no public word yet on if this was simply precautionary or something more serious.

The only run allowed by the Bowie pitching staff was unearned, the result of a passed ball by catcher Silas Ardoin with a runner on third base. All of the hurlers had decent nights. Starter Peter Van Loon was the standout as he struck out eight over his 4.1 scoreless innings. Keagan Gillies impressed with two no-hit innings, which included two strikeouts.

High-A: Greenville Drive (Red Sox) 4, Aberdeen IronBirds 0

There was no offense to be found in Aberdeen on Wednesday night. The IronBirds struck out 15 times while working three walks and earning three hits on route to being shutout by the visiting Drive. Douglas Hodo III may have had the best game of any Aberdeen hitter. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base. Creed Willems doubled for the team’s only extra-base hit. Leandro Arias singled and walked.

Zach Fruit had a terrific start for Aberdeen. Over 5.1 innings he allowed just one run on one hit, three walks, and six strikeouts. His ERA on the season is down to 3.24. Preston Johnson also did well, striking out two in his clean eighth inning. Kyle Virbitsky struggled, allowing two runs on three hits and a strikeout in the ninth.

Low-A: Carolina Mudcats (Brewers) 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 3

Delmarva put plenty of runners on base, working six walks and collecting eight hits, but they couldn’t cash in. As a team, they went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Colin Tuft had three hits, including a double, and drove in two of the Delmarva runs. Griff O’Ferrall and Ryan Stafford had two hits each. The Shorebirds attempted to run all over the place. They had eight stolen base tries in this game, but were successful on only five of them.

Riley Cooper put forth a solid start, surrendering just one run on one hit, two walks, and three strikeouts over 3.2 innings. Eccel Correa took the loss as he was knocked around to the tune of five runs on seven hits, two walks, and five strikeouts across 3.1 innings of work.

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

• Norfolk: at Gwinnett, 7:05. SP: Justin Armbruester (3-7, 7.25 ERA)
• Bowie: at Altoona, 6:00. SP: Carlos Tavera (3-0, 3.55 ERA)
• Aberdeen: vs Greenville, 7:05. SP: Levi Wells (0-5, 6.90 ERA)
• Delmarva: vs Carolina, 7:05. SP: Braxton Bragg (3-5, 3.86 ERA)