Things did not go as well for a recent trade arrival with Triple-A Norfolk.
Triple-A: Memphis (Cardinals) 13, Norfolk Tides 2
Dylan Beavers neither got promoted to Baltimore nor played in Friday’s Norfolk game. I don’t have any information about that. I hope he’s back today.
This one got out of hand late, with the Redbirds scoring five runs in the seventh inning and six in the eighth. Unfortunately, one of the new acquisitions, Cameron Foster – part of the Gregory Soto return – featured prominently in the failure. Foster was charged with six runs in 1.1 innings of work, and he also came in with the bases loaded and allowed all three of THOSE runs to score. Only three of Foster’s runs were earned, but that’s a tough outing.
Also tough was the Tides offense, which only mustered five hits. Samuel Basallo went 0-3 with a walk, while Jud Fabian had one double in three at-bats. Emmanuel Rivera was the only Norfolk batter with a multi-hit game. Ryan Mountcastle continued his rehab assignment with a 1-4 night. He’s batting .391 on this rehab.
Double-A: New Hampshire (Blue Jays) 9, Chesapeake Baysox 2
This one is even dumber than the score looks because the Fisher Cats actually only got THREE hits in the whole game and still scored nine runs. They were helped by Baysox fielders committing six errors, and to a lesser degree by Baysox pitchers walking five batters and hitting two more. New Hampshire stole four bases as well. Just a tough night all around.
It’s a shame, because starting pitcher Trey Gibson deserved better. Gibson turned in another pretty good outing, allowing a run over five innings, with six strikeouts to only one hit and walk allowed. He also hit a batter. Gibson has a 1.75 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in nine starts at the Double-A level. He’s an interesting guy who shouldn’t be lost in the flood of new draft picks and trade acquisitions.
That’s also true of my guy Aron Estrada, recently promoted to this level. Leading off for the Baysox, Estrada was 2-4 with a stolen base and is batting .417 since joining the Double-A roster. Baysox batters were 0-9 with RISP in the game. It’s a tough way to win.
High-A: Aberdeen IronBirds 9, Bowling Green (Rays) 8 – 10 innings
Some off-the-field news about the Aberdeen affiliate yesterday as the team’s ownership group announced they will be moving back to Frederick for 2026. The Keys were the High-A team for the Orioles until MLB’s recent contraction of a number of minor league teams. Next year, they’ll be back as the High-A affiliate of the O’s.
There was a whole lot of back and forth in this one, with Bowling Green picking up four runs in the seventh to take a 7-4 lead, then Aberdeen stormed back with three in the eighth to tie and eventually send it to extras. Once into the tenth, the IronBirds got their Manfred Man home plus one more, while the Hot Rods could not plate any beyond their own zombie runner. The teams combined for 22 hits.
This was an excellent game for infielder Griff O’Ferrall, who has not had many such games this year. He had three hits and stole three bases, raising his total to 31 SB for the year. Following him in the order, outfielder Austin Overn only had two hits, but each of them was a two-run homer, so he drove in four runs. He’s homered four times in his last four games and also stole his 40th base of the year. This recent hot streak has boosted Overn up to a .741 OPS for the season, which for Aberdeen is pretty good. Catcher Yasmil Bucce, a recent promotion to this level, had two hits and drove in three runs.
Low-A: Kannapolis (White Sox) 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 5 – 7 innings
Delmarva, as you are probably aware, has lately been the Nate George Show, and despite the game only going seven innings, he batted four times and was on base four times: He hit a triple as well as drew three walks. That’s fun! He got picked off first base twice, which is substantially less fun. Another 2024 overslot high school pick, Andrew Tess, who recently was promoted to Low-A, was on base twice, picking up a single and a walk.
Saturday’s Scheduled Games
- Norfolk: vs. Memphis, 6:35. Starter: Thaddeus Ward
- Chesapeake: vs. New Hampshire, 5:05 doubleheader. Starters: Nestor German, Levi Wells
- Aberdeen: at Bowling Green, 7:35. Starter: Alex Pham (rehab)
- Delmarva: at Kannapolis, 7:00. Starter: Chase Allsup