Orioles minor league recap 4/24: John Means makes another rehab start for Tides

The bats in Norfolk, Bowie and Delmarva all struggled to keep up with their opposition, while Aberdeen exploded for nine runs in a dominant win.

Triple-A: Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 9, Norfolk Tides 4

John Means put together one of his best rehab starts, but the Tides couldn’t ride that to a win against the Stripers. Means ran into early trouble in the top of the first, but then settled into the game. The veteran lefty gave up a one-out single to Gwinnett LF J.P. Martinez, and then consecutive two-out singles to bring home Martinez and give the Stripers a 1-0 lead.

Means then cruised through the second inning, going three-up/three-down on a fly out, pop up and strikeout. The Tides’ bats rewarded that effort by taking the lead in the bottom of the inning. Hudson Haskin led off with a walk and moved to third on a one-out double from Ryan McKenna. Maverick Handley then wasted no time bringing both runners home, launching a hanging changeup into left field for a two-run double.

With the Tides now leading 2-1, Means ran into some trouble in the third, but escaped the inning unscathed. After back-to-back singles to start the inning, Alejo Lopez bunted them both into scoring position. Coby Mayo then cut a runner down at home on a grounder to third and Means closed out the inning on a bases-loaded strikeout.

After another 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, Means got himself into trouble he couldn’t get out of in the fifth. Forrest Wall led off the inning with a single, Martinez added another hit and both came around to score on a sac fly and an error. Means exited after putting up a final line of 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB and 5 Ks. At the end of five, the Tides trailed 4-2.

Norfolk came back to tie the game after a bases-loaded walk in the sixth and an RBI double from Mayo in the seventh. However, that tie was short-lived as Gwinnett retook the lead with a two-RBI double in the eighth, and then extended the lead on a two-run single and an RBI groundout in the ninth.

The Tides had an opportunity to get back into the game in the bottom of the eighth when they loaded the bases with one out. However, Shayne Fontana grounded into an inning-ending double play and they got nothing. Norfolk had another scoring threat in the ninth after one-out walks from Mayo and Kyle Stowers. Again nothing came of it as Haskin and Daniel Johnson grounded out to end the game.

Box Score

Double-A: Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants) 6, Bowie Baysox 2

The Baysox gave up a bunch of runs early against Richmond, and the bats couldn’t dig them out of that hole as they dropped the series opener against the Flying Squirrels. Seth Johnson got the start for the Baysox and looked to build off the four scoreless innings he threw against Altoona in his last outing. After stranding a couple of runners in the first, Johnson ran into his first real bit of trouble in the second. Richmond’s LF Vaun Brown led off with a walk and then stole second. Brown moved to third on a single from C Adrián Sugastey and scored when 3B Luis Toribio grounded into a double play.

Down 1-0, Johnson looked to rebound in the bottom of the third, but things only got worse. Former first-round pick Will Wilson led off the inning with a walk and then stole second. Two batters later, RF Victor Bericoto singled to right to score Wilson and double the Richmond lead. Flying Squirrels 1B Logan Wyatt followed that up with another single. Bericoto then scored when Brown reached on an error by Bowie SS Frederick Bencosme.

Down 3-0 with runners on second and third, manager Roberto Mercado decided to pull Johnson. That didn’t stop the bleeding, though, as Toribio singled two batters later to bring home both runners and balloon the lead to 5-0. Richmond played some more small ball in the fourth to tack on a sixth run, and that proved too big of a mountain for Bowie to climb.

Bowie’s only attempt at a rally came in the top of the fifth. TT Bowens led off the inning with a walk and then John Rhodes finally got the Baysox on the board with a two-run HR to left center. Collin Burns tried to continue rally, following up Rhodes’s HR with a double to right, but got thrown out at third trying to stretch it to a triple. After that, the only time the Baysox got a runner in scoring position was on another Burns double in the seventh. However, none of Dylan Beavers, Jud Fabian or Samuel Basallo could bring Burns home and any thoughts of a Baysox comeback died there.

Box Score

High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 9, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies) 2

The IronBirds offense backed a strong start from Cameron Weston to sink the Blue Claws in Game 1 of their series. Aberdeen got out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to some timely hitting in the second inning. Isaac De León worked a one out walk, stole second and then came around to score on a one-out double by Reed Trimble.

That single run was enough for Weston, who cruised through 4.2 scoreless innings. The eighth-round pick from the 2022 draft allowed a single to lead off the game and then didn’t allow another hit for the rest of the night. Throughout those 4.2 innings of dominance, Weston racked up six Ks and extended his scoreless innings streak to 13.2 innings. After his showing against the BlueClaws, the former Michigan Wolverine’s ERA sits at 0.54 with a .137 opponent batting average.

The Tides offense rewarded that strong effort by putting up runs in bunches once Weston left the game in the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Aberdeen loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk before Elio Prado unloaded the bases with a three-run double to left field. The IronBirds would tack on three more runs in the sixth thanks to a couple of walks, a couple stolen bases and back-to-back RBI doubles from Tavian Josenberger and Prado. Aberdeen’s final flourish of runs came in the seventh thanks to a two-run homer from Jalen Vasquez.

Twenty-one year-old Edgar Portes worked the last four innings to earn the save. While he couldn’t keep the BlueClaws completely off the board, giving up a run apiece in the eighth and ninth, he still matched Weston with a strong outing of his own. The righty from the Dominican Republic punched out four over the final four innings, putting up his third straight relief appearance of four innings.

Box Score

Low-A: Fredericksburg Nationals (Nationals) 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 0

Fredericksburg’s pitching staff completely silenced the Delmarva bats on Tuesday, as the Shorebirds were out hit 13-4 in the shoutout loss. The Nationals took the lead before Delmarva got a chance to hit, as 3B Phillip Glasser led off the game with a single and came around to score on a double from CF Elijah Green.

The Nationals added another run in the top of the second, with DH Roismar Quintana leading off the inning with a single. Quintana then moved to second on a passed ball before scoring on a single from RF Brenner Cox. Fredericksburg continued this trend in the third, with 2B Gavin Dugas hitting another leadoff single. Dugas later moved to third on a single before stealing home and giving Fredericksburg a 3-0 lead.

After Delmarva starter Nestor German pitched an up and down first four innings, reliever Braxton Bragg replaced him and proved to be the only bright spot for the Shorebirds. Bragg had to pitch around some baserunners, but did so much better than German at stranding them. The 2023 eighth-round draft pick exited in the top of seventh with a final line of 2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB and 6 Ks. Offensively, the Shorebirds managed only eight baserunners thanks to four singles and four walks, but no one ever made it into scoring position.

As soon as Bragg left the game, the Nationals started tacking on runs again. Fredericksburg led off the eighth with a single from SS Armando Cruz, who then stole second. Cruz then advanced to third on a single from Cox before scoring when Glasser grounded into a double play. The Nationals dealt their final blow in the the top of the ninth, this time doing their damage with two outs. After a strikeout and groundout to begin the inning, Cruz singled and Cox walked to put a couple runners on. Glasser then doubled into the left field corner to score both and give Fredericksburg a 6-0 lead.

Box Score

Wednesday’s Games

Norfolk Tides vs Gwinnett Stripers, 6:35pm ET (Bruce Zimmermann vs. AJ Smith-Shawver)

Bowie Baysox at Richmond Flying Squirrels, 6:35pm ET (Alex Pham vs. Ryan Murphy)

Aberdeen IronBirds vs. Jersey Shore BlueClaws, 7:05pm ET (TBD vs. Jean Cabrera)

Delmarva Shorebirds vs. Fredericksburg Nationals, 7:05pm ET (Trey Gibson vs. Bryan Sanchez)