A look at how all four Baltimore Orioles Minor League affilates performed this past week
*Cover Photo Credit: Hannah Reagle
Happy Birthday to me! On Sunday, I celebrated my 23rd birthday. Let's see if any of the Orioles' affiliates pulled off wins for the big day, as well was how each team did throughout all of last week.
AAA Norfolk Tides It was a rough week for the Norfolk Tides who dropped all but one game to the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (Phillies AAA). Sadly, that one win they had did not fall on my birthday. The offense is not to blame for this series loss. The Tides were right there with the Iron Pigs in terms of swinging the bats. In the losses, high scoring contests saw the Tides going down with just a run differential of in between one and four runs, so they were right there with the Pigs. In the whole series, they actually narrowly outhit Lehigh Valley 56-55. The series came down to the fact that the pitching was both hit hard and not at its A game. Carlos Tavara got hit hard in six relief innings as he surrendered 7 runs and 12 hits in two relief appearances. Both Wandisson Charles and Matt Krook worked the eigth inning of Friday's loss and were charged with a combined 5 earned runs. Walks were also an issue at times for the Tides. Three times they surrendered five walks in a game. Even Krook could not go a scoreless inning on Wednesday without allowing 3 base on balls. All in all, it was a rough week for the Tides, one that they want to forget, and they look to turn thing around during next week's home stand.
Norfolk falls under .500 at 36-39. Here are three standout performers from last week for the Tides.
IF Connor Norby: the Orioles' No. 6 prospect went 8-for-27 (.364) with 2 home runs and 7 RBI in 6 games for the Tides last week. Since returning to the Minors, he has reached base in 9 of the 10 games that he has played in.
OF Daniel Johnson: the outfielder homered and doubled in Thursday's loss. He wwnt 5-for-20 (.250) in the series with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored.
IF Anthony Servideo: the former Mississippi product had a hit in every game that he played in last week. He collected his first Triple-A homer on Wednesday and went 6-for-24 (.250) overall with 6 runs scored.
The Tides return home this week and look to turn thing around in this upcoming 6-game set against the Charlotte Knights (White Sox AAA).
AA Bowie Baysox
Tuesday was as good as it got for the Baysox against the Altoona Curve (Pirates AA), who still remain at the bottom of the division even after this series. Cameron Weston threw 5.1 innings with just 2 runs, neither of which were earned, and Collin Burns had a 2-run home run that helped propell the Baysox to a 3-2 win. That was the last game that they won the entire series as they dropped the series 5-1, so they did not win on my birthday either. Errors plagued the Baysox once again last week as they committed 12 of them in the 6-game set. Those errors came back to bite the Baysox, and especially their bullpen. An example of that was on Thursday when Dylan Heid was charged with 3 runs (1 earned) after a single and a throwing error in the same play resulted in two runs. That was eventually followed by a sacrafice fly. Perhaps it was just an off week for the Baysox bullpen, which has been reliable and effective for most of the season. Maybe they just need a refresher heading into the next series. However, the defense will need to tighten up if they team is going to remain in ballgames with a chance to win. There were a lot of unearned runs last week.
Bowie falls to 32-36 and 6.5 games behind first place in the Southwest division of the Eastern League. Here are three standout performers for the Baysox from last week's 6-game set.
IF Frederick Bencosme: thetop prospect infielder went 6-for-19 (.316) in the series with 4 walks and 3 runs. He collected a 2-RBI double on Sunday.
RHP Kyle Brnovich: the right-hander gave a vallant effort in his start on Thursday as he went 4.2 innings with just 2 walked and 2 earned runs.
RHP Dan Hammer: the right-hander slammed the hammer down last week. He had 3 solid relief outings including a scoreless 3-inning relief appearance on Friday in which he K'd 5 batters.
Bowie hits the road this week to visit the Reading Fightin' Phils (Phillies AA) for a series for the first time since Opening Weekend back in April. The Baysox won that brief 3-game series 2-1.
A+ Aberdeen Ironbirds
This High-A version of the Battle of the Beltways ended with a draw, as the Ironbirds split the series with the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals A+) 3-3. With the exception of Tuesday, both the starting pitching and the bullpen had a great week last week. Many arms were on their A game and kept the Ironbirds alive in ballgames. Michael Forret and Yaqui Rivera came up clutch out of the bullpen in particular. Forret tossed 3 scoreless relief innings on Wednesday, recording 8 strikeouts along the way. Rivera appeared on Friday and went 3 scoreless innings without allowing a hit, picking up 6 punchouts along the way. The highlight of the series is...well, they got a win on my birthday! On Sunday, the Ironbirds defeated the Blue Rocks 6-2 as starter Zach Fruit went 3.2 innings of one run ball, and catcher Adam Retzbach went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI. Thanks for the birthday dub, Ironbirds!
Aberdeen sits at 34-32, 5.5 games out of first place in the Northern Division of the South Atlantic League. Here are three players who performed well last week for the 'Birds.
RHP Michael Forret: the 20-year-old nearly had a perfect 9 batters 9 strikeouts performance on Wednesday. In 3 scoreless innings, he struck out 8 batters and surrendered just one hit.
C Adam Retzbach: the backstop went 4-for-16 (.250) in 5 games last week, but he collected 6 RBI, 4 walks, and 3 runs during that stretch. He had a 2-for-3 day on Sunday with a 2-RBI triple.
OF Reed Trimble: the speedy outfielder showed off his speed with 4 stolen bases, all while going 5-for-16 (.313) with 4 RBI and 6 walks which indicated his willingness to get on base.
The 'Birds return home this week for a 6-game set against the Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets A+). If you are going to tonight's series opener, be sure to find me and say hi!
A- Delmarva Shorebirds
The Shorebirds were on the road last week as they faced off against the Fayettville Woodpeckers (Astros A-) in a 6-game set. The two teams ended in a series draw with each team winning 3 games a piece, and sadly no...the 'Birds did not win on my birthday. You have to give credit to where credit is due, as the Shorebirds' offens really broke out in the three wins that they obtained. They broke out for 24 runs on 23 hits, and they cae up clutch when they neded to as they went 13-for-32 (.406) with runners in scoring position. On Thursday, the 'Birds were down 2-1 in the top of the 8th inning until Thomas Sosa tied things up with an RBI double, his 15th of the year, and Anderson De Los Santos put the Shorebirds on top with an RBI single shortly afterwards. Aneudis Mordan then drew a bases-loaded walk that capped off a 3-run 8th for the Shorebirds and eventually a 4-2 win. Again, give credit to where credit is due. The Shorebirds offense had a great week, especially during those three wins.
Delmarva still remains in last place in the Carolina League but improve to 23-42. Here are three standout performers for the Shorebirds from last week.
OF Thomas Sosa: the 19-year-old outfielder won the Carolina League layer of the Week after going 10-for-27 (.370) with a homer and 6 RBI. He got at least one hit in each game, collected 3 stolen bases, and is now a .283 hitter in the month of June.
IF Aron Estrada: like Sosa, Estrada got at least one hit in each game that he played in. He went 9-for-24 (.375) with 2 home runs, a triple, 6 RBI, 6 runs, and 4 stolen bases.
LHP Jared Beck & RHP Jiorgeny Casimiri: both relievers share a Player of the Week award after they worked together to toss 4.2 innings of relief with just one hit allowed and 6 strikeouts. This was crucial as they entered working behind in the game 7-2, and their work out of the bullpen enabled the Shorebirds to win the game 12-7.
Delmarva is home this week for a 6-game set against the Down East Wood Ducks (Rangers A-).
Comentarios