Orioles minor league recap 8/29: Creed Willems homers twice in Double-A

It was a night full of losses down on the farm, but it wasn’t without its bright spots.

Triple-A: Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins) 2, Norfolk Tides 1

Tucker Davidson has pitched well enough to get some sort of chance on the pitching-starved Orioles. With September call-ups looming his outing here was important, and he delivered. Over seven innings the 28-year-old allowed two runs on seven hits, no walks, and eight strikeouts, and yet he was saddled with a hard luck loss. The same is true for recently-claimed reliever Brooks Kriske. He made his organizational debut, and looked fantastic, striking out all three batters he faced.

Norfolk’s offense had just three hits. One of them was a solo homer from Coby Mayo, his 22nd of the season. Samuel Basallo got his first Triple-A hit, a single. Daniel Johnson also had a base knock. J.D. Davis worked the team’s lone walk. Jud Fabian was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts atop the order.

Double-A: Akron RubberDucks (Guardians) 4, Bowie Baysox 3

Creed Willems was playing in just his second game for Double-A Bowie, but boy was it a doozy. The catcher got his first two hits at the level, both of which left the park for his first pair of home runs as well. No one else in the lineup had an extra-base hit, and Bowie went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

It was a mixed bag on the mound. Trace Bright took another loss. The 23-year-old is 0-11 this season despite owning a fine 4.50 ERA in 2024. He coughed up three runs over 3.2 innings despite allowing just one hit because he issued six walks. Dan Hammer and Jakob Hernandez combined for the next 1.1 shutout innings. Logan Rinehart was next up; he gave up a run across his two innings of work. And it was Keagan Gillies to wrap up the box score for the Baysox. He struck out two in his shutout eighth inning.

High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 6, Aberdeen IronBirds 1

Aberdeen had plenty of runners on base, compiling seven hits and seven walks, but they struggled to cash in. As a team they left 10 runners on base and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Elio Prado filled up the stat sheet with two hits, a double, a stolen base, and a run scored. Douglas Hodo III walked three times and swiped three bags. Jake Cunningham drove in the IronBirds’ only run with an RBI groundout in the fourth inning.

Four different pitchers stepped on the mound for Aberdeen. Two of them were good, two of them were…less so. The good: Towson native Zane Barnhart (1.1 innings, one hit, one strikeout, no runs) and seven-footer Jared Beck (1.2 shutout innings, three strikeouts). The less so: Luis De León (loss, two-thirds of an inning, three runs, two hits, three walks) and Michael Forret (4.1 innings, three runs on six hits, seven strikeouts).

Low-A: Salem Red Sox 7, Delmarva Shorebirds 2

Vance Honeycutt recorded his first extra-base hit, a double, as part of a 1-for-5 day with two strikeouts. Griff O’Ferrall went 0-for-5. Braylin Tavera and Maikol Hernández had two singles each. Tavera also swiped his 25th bag of the season. Edwin Amparo, a 19-year-old, went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base.

Eccel Correa did OK as the starter in this one. He lasted 4.2 innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. A rehabbing Zach Peek struggled through two-thirds of an inning: one hit, two runs, two walks, and two strikeouts. Riley Cooper struck out six over his 3.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk in the process.

Box Scores

Thursday’s Schedule

• Norfolk: at Jacksonville, 7:05. SP: Carlos Tavera (2-4, 8.25 ERA)
• Bowie: at Akron, 6:35. SP: Patrick Reilly (0-0, 4.40 ERA)
• Aberdeen: at Wilmington, 6:35. SP: TBD
• Delmarva: vs Salem, 7:05. SP: Braxton Bragg (4-5, 3.45 ERA)