Orioles minor league recap 8/4: Bradish rehabs, Basallo and Beavers homer in Norfolk walkoff

Elsewhere, new trade acquisition Brandon Butterworth homered in his first career Double-A game.

Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 10, Memphis Redbirds (STL) 9

Start with the bad news: Kyle Bradish’s first rehab start in Triple-A could have gone better. It was 4-0 before Norfolk even took an AB, with a Carter Young fielding error extending Bradish’s first inning. Three more runs scored off Bradish in the second, including on a home run. The righty’s final line: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 7 R (5 ER), 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR. I’d say another rehab start would be good.

Happily, that didn’t matter for the result of this game, which instead turned out to be Norfolk’s second straight walkoff. Down 4-0, Dylan Beavers led off the bottom half with his fifteenth home run of the year and fourth leading off a game. (Surely we can promote this guy already?) One batter later, Samuel Basallo hit a bomb of his own, 414 feet to deep center. (Similar thoughts apply.)

In the third inning, Reed Trimble singled, stole second, and scored on a Silas Ardoin single. That same inning, Jud Fabian made it a 7-5 game with a homer of his own. In the fourth inning, Beavers hit his second four-bagger of the day to make it 9-7, punctuated by a huge bat flip. (So much sabor with this one!)

That’s how the score would stay until the bottom of the ninth. Basallo and TT Bowens kicked off a rally with back-to-back singles, and Fabian bunted them over. Vimael Machín made it 9-8 with an RBI groundout. With two outs, Reed Trimble just legged out an infield single to tie it at nine and keep the game alive. He’d help win this one with his legs again when the No. 8 hitter, Carter Young, doubled into the corner, and Trimble came around all the way from first. What an incredible game.

Everybody had a great day at the plate, it felt like. Beavers finished 3-for-5 with two homers and 3 RBI. Basallo went 2-for-5, scored twice, and homered. TT Bowens went 2-for-5. Jud Fabian homered, walked, and drove in two. Reed Trimble went 3-for-5. And the No. 9 hitter, catcher Silas Ardoin, had a career-high four hits.

As for the rest of the pitchers, Preston Johnson allowed a two-run homer, but Nate Webb, Levi Stoudt and Cionel Pérez combined for a four-inning shutout on just two hits to allow their team to get back in the game.

Box Score

Double-A: New Hampshire Fisher Cats (TOR) 9, Chesapeake Baysox 4

Suffice it to say that Juaron Watts-Brown’s Orioles org debut was mixed. In four innings of work, the right-hander allowed six runs, five of them earned (two Baysox fielding errors didn’t help). One run scored on a home run to the very first batter JWB faced. Two more scored in the third inning on a walk, triple, and error. Another error, a single, and a homer in the fourth capped off his outing. On the other hand, he did strike out six! You can see some footage here.

The highlight for the offense was a pair of home runs, one hit by newest Orioles affiliate Brandon Butterworth, playing in his first career Double-A game! He also singled and scored in the sixth on a wild pitch. Butterworth was supposed to be one of the less interesting prospects in the O’Hearn/Laureano deal, but this is a pretty good way to introduce yourself!

The other home run was not an official one, but it was pretty funny. Frederick Bencosme singled and managed to circle the bases, thanks to some butchery in the outfield. The home crowd loved it.

The rest of the Chesapeake pitching was fine. Trace Bright covered four innings and also struck out six, but allowed three earned runs of his own. Peter van Loon pitched a scoreless ninth.

Box Score

High-A: Bowling Green Hot Rods (TBR) 3, Aberdeen IronBirds 2

Another nice outing for starter Michael Forret, who threw four scoreless innings and didn’t allow a hit. He walked one and struck out five. In 15 games (54.2 innings) at High-A this season, the 21-year-old Forret has a 1.65 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. Worth keeping an eye on.

A little less distinguished was former Met prospect Chandler Marsh’s debut as a Baltimore affiliate. Marsh tossed 1.1 innings, leaving in the sixth with the bases loaded and one out, and Ryan Cabarcas let two runs score to blow up Marsh’s line and get a blown save. Zane Barnhart allowed a third Bowling Green run, scored by former Orioles prospect Mac Horvath. Bummer.

Catcher Ethan Anderson, a 21-year-old draft pick out of Virginia last year, drove in all the IronBirds runs today, with a home run and a sac fly. Considering his team had only one other hit (a Maikol Hernández single), this was a pretty solid performance at the plate. Griff O’Ferrall, Jake Cunningham and Ryan Stafford all reached base with a walk.

Box Score

Low-A: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (CWS) 6, Delmarva Shorebirds 3

18-year-old Esteban Mejía threw three good innings, then lost it in the fourth, allowing three runs. The relief was worse, as Keeler Morfe allowed three runs on two walks and three hits in one inning of work. Relievers Joe Glassey and Luis Beltrán were solid, with scoreless outings each. Glassey, in particular, has a 1.88 ERA in 16 innings of work at Low-A.

The Shorebirds had only four hits and four walks today. New addition Cobb Hightower had two of the free passes. Catcher Andrew Tess, 18, recently promoted from the FCL, had two hits and scored a run. Outfielder Raylin Ramos doubled and walked. Fernando Peguero drove in two runs on a pair of sac flies. Braylin Tavera had an RBI single.

Box Score

Today’s Schedule

There are no scheduled games for today.