Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 3, Syracuse Mets 2
Nestor German was the story in this Tides win, twirling a dazzling outing of seven shutout innings, the longest outing of his professional career. He had more strikeouts (six) than baserunners (five), and it came against a Syracuse lineup in which all nine batters were guys with major league experience, including blink-and-you-missed-them former Orioles Cristian Pache and Vidal Bruján. It was German’s second straight scoreless start. What a performance by the Orioles’ #11 prospect (per MLB Pipeline).
Tides cleanup hitter Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit his 17th homer with Norfolk, and Heston Kjerstad went 0-for-3 but contributed a sac fly. Leadoff man Enrique Bradfield Jr., who as of yesterday is no longer the only EBJ in the organization, went 0-for-3 with a walk.
The Tides nearly blew a 3-0 lead in the ninth when lefty Andrew Magno had a rare bad outing, giving up two runs to raise his season ERA to a still-awesome 1.04, but he held on for his sixth save. Before that, Yaramil Hiraldo, whom the O’s activated from the IL and optioned yesterday, worked a perfect eighth.
Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 9, Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 0
The Baysox dominated on every side of the ball, not only erupting for nine runs on 10 hits but also throwing a two-hit shutout. It was maybe their most all-around well-played victory of the season.
Let’s start on the mound, where #4 prospect Luis De León had the kind of outing that makes scouts drool over him. Just like Nestor German, he delivered the longest outing of his professional career, but he one-upped German by tossing eight scoreless innings. Wowza! Before tonight, De León’s career high for innings in a game was six, and even that he only did once. Also like German, De León had more strikeouts (five) than baserunners (three). I think it’s safe to say this was the best outing of his professional career. For good measure, reliever Juan Rojas struck out the side in the ninth.
Then there’s the Chesapeake offense, which certainly brought the lumber on this night. Leadoff man Douglas Hodo III set the tone with a homer, a double, and five RBIs. Three other Baysox had multi-hit games, including Aron Estrada, Griff O’Ferrall, and recently acquired Dom Keegan. Thomas Sosa added a homer. The Baysox went 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position. They scored two of their runs against former O’s minor league Carter Rustad, who was traded for Johnathan Rodríguez in March.
High-A: Frederick Keys 6, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 4 — Game 1, 7 inn.
In their regularly scheduled Saturday game, the Keys scored six unanswered runs to rally back from an early 3-0 deficit. The top five hitters in the lineup were a combined 7-for-14, which my rudimentary math skills tell me is a .500 average. Wehiwa Aloy starred with two hits, including his 13th home run. Victor Figueroa, Randal Diaz, and Colin Tuft each added an RBI. The Keys also had four steals in five attempts.
Tall lefty Boston Bateman picked up the win with a solid five-inning effort, giving up three runs and striking out six. Righty Trent Turzenski, making his first appearance in High-A this year, worked a scoreless ninth for the save. The seven-inning game clocked in at under two hours (1:58).
High-A: Jersey Shore 2, Frederick 1 — Game 2, 7 inn.
The Keys had to settle for a doubleheader split, dropping the nightcap in a makeup of Thursday’s rainout. The productive offense from the opener disappeared in game 2, with Frederick managing only two hits in their seven innings of play. Aloy provided one, an RBI single in the third, and #9 hitter Alfredo Velásquez had the other. Jersey Shore starter Ramon Marquez, the Phillies’ #9 prospect, racked up nine strikeouts in five innings.
The BlueClaws, like the Keys, also had only two hits, but unfortunately they came back-to-back in the second — a single and a two-run homer — to provide the margin of victory. That spoiled an otherwise strong outing by Keys lefty Caden Hunter, who went five frames, walked three, and struck out eight. This game was even quicker than the first one, at just one hour and 50 minutes.
Orioles #2 prospect Ike Irish did not play in either game of the doubleheader, although no injury has been reported.
Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 8, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox) 0
Yet another stupendous pitching performance by an O’s affiliate on this night. You love to see it. This time it was Christian Rodriguez who delivered the goods, firing seven scoreless innings. That matched a career high for the 24-year-old righty. Rodriguez scattered five hits, walked one, and struck out four. When is the last time that three different Orioles minor leaguers pitched 7+ innings on the same day? I would venture to say it’s been a long time, if ever. Relievers Adrian Heredia and Luis Beltrán completed the combined shutout with a scoreless inning apiece, combining for five strikeouts.
The Shorebirds’ offense erupted for a 13-hit attack, including three apiece by center fielder Braylon Whitaker and catcher Adriander Mejía. Home runs by Félix Amparo, Jose Perez, and Andrés Nolaya helped lead the Delmarva rout.
Sunday’s scheduled games:
- Norfolk: vs. Syracuse, 1:05 PM. Starter: Cade Povich (0-2, 5.31)
- Chesapeake: at Akron, 1:05 PM. Starter: TBD
- Frederick: vs. Jersey Shore, 2:00 PM. Starter: Patrick Reilly (Frederick season debut)
- Delmarva: vs. Kannapolis, 5:05 PM.Starter: Dalton Neuschwander (1-6, 7.10)