It was a tough night down on the farm for all affiliates.
Triple-A: Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals) 10, Norfolk Tides 7
The Tides trailed 10-0 at one point, but then scored seven runs in the final three innings to make the Redbirds sweat a little bit. Ultimately the comeback attempt came up a few runs short.
There was some good stuff on offense for Norfolk. Dylan Beavers went 3-for-4 with his sixth home run of the year and a walk. Heston Kjerstad hit his first homer at Triple-A, a two-run shot. Vimael Machin added his seventh long ball. Maverick Handley and Jordyn Adams both reached base twice, with a single and a walk each.
The pitching staff did not perform as well. Cameron Weston allowed six runs on six hits, five walks, two strikeouts, and two home runs over four innings. Nick Richmond followed with two runs allowed in his lone inning. But things settled down from there. Matt Bowman, Cionel Pérez, and Corbin Martin combined for three scoreless innings.
Double-A: Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 14, Chesapeake Baysox 0 – F/7
Sometimes you just need a pick-me-up, something that tells you the Orioles farm system is headed in the right direction. Welp. This box score does not do that.
It was a miserable day overall. Not only did the Baysox get blown out, but the weather was crummy too. First pitch was delayed by an hour and 19 minutes, and then more rain later in the day ended the game after just seven innings, although that was likely a welcome development at that point.
The Baysox had one hit. That’s it. One hit. It was an Adam Retzbach double, his ninth of the year. Outside of that their only baserunners were walks, four of them in total. They had just two at-bats with runners in scoring position. It was ugly.
There were no better signs on the mound, where Chesapeake used four pitchers and only one of them had a “good” outing. Ryan Long allowed seven earned runs across three innings, Raúl Alcantara was responsible for two runs in one inning of work, and Gerald Ogando served up four runs in his lone inning. Daniel Lloyd had the only scoreless inning of the game for Chesapeake. He walked one and struck out one in the sixth inning.
High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 6, Aberdeen IronBirds 1
Aberdeen only fared slightly better than their Double-A counterparts. They compiled one run on two hits and five walks, but it was otherwise a brutal offensive showing.
As a team, the IronBirds struck out 18 times and had only one extra-base hit, a Griff O’Ferrall double. Austin Overn walked three times and Jake Cunningham worked two base on balls. They both stole a base as well. Their only run scored on an error by the Brooklyn third baseman.
It was a mixed bag of pitching performances for Aberdeen. The starter Juan Rojas struggled through 3.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, a walk, and zero strikeouts. Things improved from there. Trent Turzenski allowed just one run on two hits, two walks, and three strikeouts. Carter Rustad was the standout of the staff, working 2.2 scoreless innings. And then Zane Barnhart added a scoreless ninth inning.
Low-A: Hickory Crawdads (Rangers) 5, Delmarva Shorebirds 4
The only impressive start of the day belonged Yeiber Cartaya. The 22-year-old worked five innings and allowed only one run (unearned) on one hit, one walk, and seven strikeouts. He has a 0.55 ERA in the month of June. The next three pitchers out of the bullpen were effective as well, if not as dominant. Ryan Cabarcas, Devin Kirby, and Luis Beltrán combined for three innings and one run allowed, handing Deivy Cruz a two-run lead in the ninth. Apparently, that wasn’t enough. Cruz retired two of the first three batters he faced, and then imploded. He loaded the bases, gave up a two-run single, and then balked in the winning run to end the game.
Delmarva’s bats did not make the most of their opportunities. They went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and had only two RBI of their own. The other two runs they scored were a result of Hickory’s three errors on the day. Kevin Guerrero was the biggest offensive contributor. He drove in two runs, first with a ground out and later with his second home run of the season. Raylin Ramos had a pair of hits, but was also picked off on the bases. Nate George singled twice and scored a run.
Thursday’s Schedule
Norfolk: at Memphis, 8:05 pm. Starter: Roansy Contreras (3-2, 4.38 ERA)
Chesapeake: at Erie, 6:05 pm. Starter: Nestor German (3-2, 3.46 ERA)
Aberdeen: vs Brooklyn, 7:05 pm. Starter: Sebastian Gongora (1-0, 1.04 ERA)
Delmarva: at Hickory, 7:00 pm. Starter: Chipper Menard (0-3, 11.17 ERA)