Orioles minor league recap 8/25: Jordan Westburg continues hot month

Delmarva’s lineup full of 2022 draft picks impresses, a big day in Bowie, and wins up and down the system.

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 6, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) 3 – Game 1

This was the resumption of a game that was suspended Tuesday.

Norfolk’s pitching staff had itself a nice game. Chris Vallimont started and allowed just one run on three hits and two strikeouts over three innings. But the headliner was reliever DL Hall. The flame-throwing lefty tossed two no-hit, shutout innings, striking out four in the process. This was his second straight relief appearance, but they were separated by five days. The organization is now planning to shorten the time between outings in order to allow him to come back to the big leagues as a bullpen piece.

Jordan Westburg led the Tides’ offense, launching two home runs and driving in four runs. The infielder has a .953 OPS this month. Jacob Nottingham was right behind him with three hits, including a double and his 13th home run of the season. Yusniel Diaz went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a run scored. GUNNAR HENDERSON, starting at second base, was 0-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.

Triple-A: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) 7, Norfolk Tides 6 – Game 2, F/7

Bruce Zimmermann was back on the bump as he looks to force his way back to the big leagues before the end of the season. This start will not help his case. Over five innings the lefty got touched up for 10 hits, leading to six runs (four earned), a walk, and seven strikeouts. Beau Sulser tossed one inning in relief, allowing a run on two hits.

Westburg had himself another nice game, going 2-for-2 with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. HENDERSON took another collar, 0-for-3 with one walk and a run. Kelvin Gutiérrez smacked a two-run homer and drove in another run on a ground out. Brett Phillips made his first appearance for the Tides. Playing center field, Phillips was 0-for-1 with two walks, a run scored, a strikeout, and a stolen base.

Double-A: Bowie Baysox 7, Altoona Curve (Pirates) 5

There were plenty of standouts for Bowie. Colton Cowser had three hits, including a double. plus a walk and two runs scored. Coby Mayo was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. Connor Norby singled, doubled, and stole a base. Cesar Prieto and Cody Roberts also had multi-hit days.

It was all hands on deck for the pitching staff. Bowie needed five pitchers to get through the nine innings. Brenan Hanifee allowed just one run over five innings to nab the win. Nolan Hoffman struck out two in his perfect inning. Hector Perez earned the save with a scoreless, two-strikeout frame.

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 8, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 3

Aberdeen pitchers did not allow a single earned run in this game. This was due to a fielding error by first baseman Isaac Bellony that was compounded by another error by right fielder Billy Cook. Jean Pinto started and tossed four innings, striking out two and serving up five hits. Alex Pham and Nick Richmond both threw two innings in relief before Kade Strowd closed things out with a shutout inning.

Hits were distributed up and down the IronBirds lineup. Darell Hernaiz was the lone batter with multiple hits. Donta’ Williams and Connor Pavolony launched home runs. Heston Kjerstad and Trendon Craig recorded a double apiece. And a whole load of IronBirds stole bases: Hernaiz and Cook had one each, and then Craig and Luis Valdez swiped a pair.

Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 8, Lynchburg Hillcats (Guardians) 7

The Delmarva lineup is a juggernaut now that the 2022 draft picks have been included. Carter Young had three hits at the top of the lineup, including a double. Jud Fabian added two hits, a triple and his second home run. Dylan Beavers scored four times on a double, a triple, and two walks. Max Wagner and Reed Trimble added two hits apiece.

It was more of a mixed bag on the pitching side of things. The Shorebirds needed five pitchers and none of them threw more than 2.1 innings. Reese Sharp three two scoreless innings and struck out four but also walked four. Cameron Weston got the win, striking out a pair over two hitless frames.

Number one overall pick Jackson Holliday is expected to debut with the Shorebirds on Thursday after he went 9-for-22 with 10 walks down in Florida across eight games.

Box scores for Wednesday’s games can be found here.

Thursday’s Scheduled Games

• Triple-A Norfolk: at Jacksonville, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Mike Baumann (1-6, 5.14 ERA)
• Double-A Bowie: vs Altoona, 6:35. Starting pitcher: TBD
• High-A Aberdeen: vs Wilmington, 7:05. Starting pitcher: Antonio Velez (0-1, 15.43 ERA)
• Low A Delmarva: vs Lynchburg, 7:05. Starting pitcher: TBD