The Orioles affiliates split their Friday games, with teams getting six hits overall as a recurring theme.
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 8, Charlotte (White Sox) 6
The Tides were trailing by three runs heading into the bottom of the ninth and managed to load the bases before anyone made an out. The first and second outs came and went and Norfolk did not manage to advance any runner. On the verge of complete disaster, prospect Jud Fabian kept the line moving with an RBI single to keep the bases loaded. Infielder Niko Goodrum fell into an 0-2 hole and then smoked a grand slam to send everybody home.
You might call it something of a stolen win. The Tides were outhit 10-6 in the game and they had only three hits entering the ninth. Goodrum was the only Tides batter to record multiple hits – he drove in six of the eight Norfolk runs.
The starting pitcher for this one was Trevor Rogers, now making the third start of his minor league exile. Rogers… well, he was not bad. 6.2 innings, three runs on six hits and a walk. The only thing you can really criticize is that he allowed two homers, one solo shot in the sixth and one in the seventh. That’s two straight decent outings after his first one was a disaster. Take away from that whatever you feel like. Bryan Baker struck out three batters in a scoreless ninth to vulture a win. He has a 4.91 ERA with Norfolk.
Double-A: Harrisburg (Nationals) 6, Bowie Baysox 3 – 10 innings
There are professional sports leagues where you get bonus points for not losing in regulation. Baseball is not one of them. Things fell apart for the Baysox after they pushed the game into the tenth, with the Senators scoring not only their Manfred Man but two other runs in an inning that saw both Dylan Beavers and Enrique Bradfield Jr. commit throwing errors. In all, there were four Bowie errors in the game.
Even with all of that, the Baysox ended up with the tying run on base and the winning run at the plate since they, like Norfolk, loaded the bases with no one out in their half of the tenth. Bradfield was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and the Manfred Man was already on base. Beavers drew a walk to load them up. Like Norfolk, neither the first nor second outs advanced any runner. Unlike Norfolk, there was no two-out magic to come.
Bradfield was on base three times thanks to a hit, walk, and the extra-inning HBP. He drove in two of Bowie’s runs and stole his eleventh Double-A base in his 20th Double-A game. Counting time with Aberdeen, he’s stolen 70 bases this season. Beavers was 0-4 with the walk and Creed Willems dropped an 0-5. Frederick Bencosme had half of Bowie’s hits, a 3-5 night, all singles.
High-A: Jersey Shore (Phillies) 7, Aberdeen IronBirds 4
This one was knotted at four apiece until the ninth inning, when things really got away from 7-foot reliever Jared Beck. Over the course of that ninth frame, Beck walked one batter, hit another, threw a wild pitch, committed a throwing error, and gave up a home run. He took the loss.
Though the IronBirds did score four runs, they did this on only six hits and there wasn’t much to write home about for the prospects. Austin Overn went 1-4 from the leadoff spot and struck out three times. Vance Honeycutt took an 0-for, striking out twice.
Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 3, Carolina (Brewers) 0
Each of these teams had eight hits in this game. The Mudcats went 0-6 with RISP while the Shorebirds didn’t. Actually, Delmarva was a mere 1-7 with RISP, but they were able to capitalize when 19-year-old infielder Edwin Amparo hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Amparo’s dinger was his first at this level in his 25th game. Outfielder Fernando Peguero plated the first run with a fourth inning single. Peguero, also 19, was on base three times; he’s got five hits in his first four A-ball games.
Three different Delmarva pitchers combined for the shutout. Starting pitcher Jacob Cravey scattered four hits and three walks over his four innings, with Yeiber Cartaya striking out six across four innings with four hits allowed. 2024 undrafted free agent Joe Glassey tossed a scoreless ninth for his second pro save.
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Saturday’s Scheduled Games
- Norfolk: vs. Charlotte, 6:35. Starter: Brandon Young
- Bowie: vs. Harrisburg, 6:35. Starter: Cameron Weston
- Aberdeen: vs. Jersey Shore, 7:05. Starter: TBD
- Delmarva: at Carolina, 6:30. Starter: Keeler Morfe