Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 6, Gwinnett Stripers (Braves) 5 – F/10
Trey Gibson battled through six innings and took a no-decision in this one. He allowed four runs on five hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts. The bullpen was solid in support. Dietrich Enns tossed two scoreless innings and struck out one. Codi Heuer was perfect in the ninth. And then Nick Raquet did allow the Manfred runner in the 10th inning to score, but otherwise shut down the Stripers to lock up the win.
Norfolk’s bats managed to scored six runs despite collecting just four hits and striking
out 15 times, largely because they worked seven walks. Rece Hinds drove in the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the 10th with a bases loaded double to score Payton Eeles and Luis Vàzquez. It was the team’s only hit with runners in scoring position all game. Vazquez also smacked his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot in the seventh inning. Jud Fabian had their other RBI on a sac fly. Heston Kjerstad and Creed Willems both went 1-for-4 with a run scored. Reed Trimble was 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts.
Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 3, Reading Fightin Phils 2
The hype train for Joseph Dzierwa may be reaching maximum capacity soon. The lefty was brilliant yet again, tossing six shutout innings in which he allowed one hit, three walks, and struck out seven. His ERA at Double-A is down to 1.89 over 71.1 innings. Sebastian Gongora worked three innings of relief to earn the save, but he did cough up two runs on four hits, a walk, and three strikeouts.
It wasn’t the most productive night for the Chesapeake lineup, but it was enough to get the win. Aron Estrada hit the very first pitch of the game out of the park for his 18th home run of the season. Frederick Bencosme knocked in Wehiwa Aloy for their second run of the day later in the inning to give the good guys an early 2-0 lead. Chesapeake’s only other run scored on a sacrifice fly from Fernando Peguero in the fourth inning. Aloy, Peguero, and Tavian Josenberger each stole one base while Griff O’Ferrall swiped two.
High-A: Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays) 6, Frederick Keys 2 – F/10
Frederick’s pitching staff was having itself a nice night before a an extra innings implosion cost them the game. Stephen Still allowed just one run across his 5.2 innings of work, walking two and striking out four in the process. Teddy Sharkey followed with 1.1 scoreless innings. Braeden Sloan allowed one run in the eighth while also striking out three. And then Todd Kniebbe punched out all three batters he saw in the ninth. That sent the game to extras, where Chandler Marsh had some trouble. He faced seven hitters, walked two of them, gave up two singles, and a double, which amounted to four runs allowed (three earned), before he got out of it.
Jordan Sanchez hit his first High-A homer of the year in the fourth inning, a solo shot that put Frederick up 1-0 at the time. Randal Diaz had their other RBI, laying down a bunt single in the eighth inning to score DJ Layton. Leandro Arias doubled for the team’s only other extra-base knock. Enddy Azocar went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
Low-A: Salem RidgeYaks (Red Sox) 10, Delmarva Shorebirds 3
It wasn’t all bad for Delmarva’s pitchers, despite the scoreline. KK Clark tossed five solid innings, allowing three runs on three hits, four walks, and two strikeouts. He was serviceable. Dalton Neuschwander, on the other hand, struggled. In his two innings of work he allowed seven runs on six hits, a walk, and a home run. Adrian Heredia was impressive, working two shutout innings in which he gave up just one hit and struck out two.
Eric Booth Jr. hit second and DH’ed, going 1-for-4 with a single and a walk. Stiven Martinez had two of the Shorebirds RBI, both scoring on a fifth-inning triple that gave them a 2-1 lead at the time. Elvin Garcia followed with a single to score Martinez. Those were the team’s only two hits with runners in scoring position as they went 2-for-9 in such situations. Félix Amparao added a single, a stolen base, and a run scored at the bottom of the order. Jaiden Lo Re was 0-for-3 with two walks as the lead-off hitter.
Thursday’s Schedule
Norfolk: vs Gwinnett, 12:05. Starter: Juaron Watts-Brown (1-0, 5.40 ERA)
Chesapeake: at Reading, 7:00 pm. Starter: Patrick Reilly (0-1, 5.79 ERA)
Frederick: vs Bowling Green, 7:00 pm. Starter: Evan Yates (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Delmarva: vs Salem, 7:05 pm. Starter: Holden deJong (0-1, 13.50 ERA)
