Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 7, Nashville Sounds (Brewers) 5
Trey Gibson gave up a lead off homer to rehabbing big leaguer Sal Frelick to begin the game, but then sailed through the first four innings with no other damage. He ran into more trouble in the fifth, where he allowed another run, and then served up three more in the fifth. His final line (six innings, five runs, 10 hits, one walk, seven strikeouts) isn’t great, but it was enough for the win. Luis De Léon made his first relief appearance of the year and managed to toss a scoreless inning despite
issuing three walks. Codi Heuer took the save after tossing two shuout innings.
Brandon Butterworth gave the Tides an early lead with his three-run homer in the bottom of the second inning, his first long ball at Triple-A. Their other four runs all came in the third inning, when they sent all nine baters to the plate and benefitted from three errors by the Sounds. Jud Fabian and Payton Eeles had two hits each. Fabian’s night included a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Rece Hinds also doubled and scored a run. Enrique Bradfield Jr., Creed Willems, and Heston Kjerstad each went hitless and walked once.
Double-A: Richmond Flying Squirrels (Giants) 7, Chesapeake Baysox 4
Have you heard of Joseph Dzeriwa? He’s pretty good! Tossed five innings here and allowed just one run on two hits, a walk, and three strikeouts. His Double-A ERA is down to 1.89 across 76.1 innings. Gerald Ogando may have been even more impressive in relief, striking out five in his two shutout innings. Tyson Neighbors, on the other hand, had a tough night, giving up three runs without recording an out. Jeisson Cabrera came on as a fireman and allowed two of the inherited runners to score before ending the inning. Alex Pham was called on to keep things tied in the ninth inning, but was unable to do so. He gave up three runs on two hits (including a home run) and a walk.
Fernando Peguero led the Chesapeake offense with a 3-for-4 night that included a two-RBI single in the eighth inning, plus a stolen base. Vance Honeycutt, playing in his second game at Double-A, went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base as the DH in the game. Griff O’Ferrall added two hits and an RBI. Tavian Josenberger doubled, walked, stole two bases, and scored twice. Wehiwa Aloy went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
High-A: Frederick Keys 12, Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 9 – Game 1 – F/7
The Keys scored 12 runs on 18 hits and four walks in just seven innings of baseball. Enddy Azocar outpaced everyone with four hits, including a home run, and three runs scored. Jordan Sanchez had two hits, two RBI, and three runs scored. Leando Arias led the team with four RBI, three of which came in on his second-inning home run. DJ Layton doubled, walked three times, and scored twice. Ethan Anderson, on a rehab assignment, had two hits. Braylin Tavera had three hits. Both Colin Yeaman and Yasmil Bucce hit two doubles. Bucce also drove in four runs.
There was less good news on the pitching side of things. Christian Rodriguez allowed four runs across his five innings of work. Brendan Parks worked one inning and allowed one run, but also struck out three. Chandler Marsh took the ninth inning and gave up four runs before wrapping up the game.
High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 8, Frederick Keys 4, – Game 2 – F/7
Randal Diaz, who didn’t play in the first game of the day, was Frederick’s most productive hitter in the night cap. He had two hits, a home run and a double, drove in two runs, and took a walk. Azocar singled, walked, stole two bases, and scored a run. Arias had an almost identical line, but stole just one base. Braylon Whitaker went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. Layton walked and stole a base.
Evan Yates started on the mound. He went five innings but also allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits, two walks, and four strikeouts. His ERA jumped up to 4.30 on the year. Ben Vespi worked the final two innings in which he gave up two runs but neither was earned.
Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 9, Hickory Crawdads (Rangers) 5
Delmarva had plenty of runners on base in this one. As a team they collected 11 hits and six walks, which presented them with 14 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Jaiden Lo Re led the team with three RBI as part of his 2-for-5 performance that included a double. Stiven Martinez left the park with his 11th home run of the year, a solo shot in the fourth inning. He also walked twice and scored twice. Ty Head had two hits, a stolen base, a run scored. Eric Booth Jr. went 1-for-4 with a single, a walk, an RBI, a run scored, and two strikeouts.
The Shorebirds starter, Holden deJong, severed up four runs on five hits, three walks, and six strikeouts over 4.1 innings during his up-and-down start. Jake Dykhoff took the win by giving up just one run (unearned) on four hits, a walk, and one strikeout over 4.2 innings.
Box Scores
Thursday’s Schedule
Norfolk: vs Nashville, 12:05. Starter: Juaron Watts-Brown (1-0, 5.14 ERA)
Chesapeake: vs Richmond, 6:35 pm. Starter: Anthony Eyanson (6-0, 2.01 ERA)
Frederick: at Wilmington, 6:35 pm. Starter: Stephen Still (0-1, 3.45 ERA)
Delmarva: at Hickory, 7:00 pm. Starter: Harrison Kreiling (0-2, 14.73 ERA)
