Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 4, Worcester Red Sox 3
Chris Bassitt made a solid rehab start for the Tides and Creed Willems powered the Norfolk offense to a come-from-behind win against the Red Sox.
Bassitt’s evening got off to a rough start, as Red Sox top prospect Franklin Arias homered on the very first pitch the 37-year-old threw to give Worcester a quick 1-0 lead. The 12-year MLB vet settled in from there, setting down the next eight batters he faced while picking up a pair of strikeouts. That streak ended on a two-out walk by Arias in 3rd, but
Bassitt would end the inning on 6-3 groundout to keep the deficit at one.
The right-hander finished his evening with a punchout of Nate Eaton for the first out of the 4th. He ended with a final line of 3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 3 Ks on 46 pitches. Given that Bassitt was out for seven weeks with back injury, he’ll probably need at least one or two more rehab starts before rejoining the Orioles.
Willems took the baton from his starter and propelled the Tides’ comeback. In the bottom of the 4th, Reed Trimble reached on a one out single beofer moving to second on a groundout. Willems then delivered the first of his two clutch hits, with the catcher singling up the middle to drive home Trimble to tie the game at 1-1.
The backstop would then start a rally that broke that tie in the 7th, working a leadoff walk. Willems moved to third on a José Barrero single and scored on a Ryan Noda single to give Norfolk a 2-1 lead. Two batters later, Luis Vázquez executed a perfect squeeze play to bring home Noda and double the Tides’ advantage.
Willems then put the final insurance run on the board in the 8th, taking a first-pitch sweeper and blasting it over the right-field fence for his 14th long ball of the season. The insurance run would prove important, as Juaron Watts-Brown allowed two runs in the 9th before finally closing out the game.
Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 12, Altoona Curve 3
The Baysox scored five runs in the 1st and never looked back as they clobbered the Curve in their series opener.
Douglas Hodo III led off the game with an infield single befoer Brandon Butterworth and Wehiwa Aloy walked to load the bases. After Anderson De Los Santos struck out, Aron Estrada unloaded on a pitch left over the plate and launched a grand slam over the center field fence. Two batters later, Dom Keegan golfed a solo home run to left center to make it 5-0.
Chesapeake grew the lead even further in the 2nd. Griff O’Ferrall lef off the inning with a double and then scored on a Butterworth triple. Altoona would cut that 6-0 lead in half with a run in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Aloy picked up his first Double-A hit with a leadoff single in the 5th, and later came around to score on an Estrada single. The 2B then stole second and score on a single by Keegan.
Estrada continued his banner day in the 7th, as he doubled to right to push across De Los Santos for the Baysox’s ninth run of the game. Estrada then scored on a Victor Figueroa single to push the score to 10-3. The 21-year-old would pick up his fourth hit of the game in the 9th, finishing the game 4-for-5, a triple short of the cycle and with six RBIs.
High-A: Frederick Keys vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks (Ppd.-Rain)
The Keys and Blue Rocks were rained out on Tuesday and will play a doubleheader later today.
Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds vs. Hickory Crawdads (Ppd.- Inclement Weather)
Inclement weather postponed the Shorebirds and Crawdads’ game on Tuesday. The two teams will play a doubleheader later today.
Wednesday’s scheduled games
Norfolk Tides vs. Worcester Red Sox, 6:35pm ET (Cade Povich vs. Blake Wehunt)
Chesapeake Baysox at Altoona Curve, 12:05pm ET (TBD vs. TBD)
Frederick Keys vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks, Game 1, 11:00am ET (Yeiber Cartaya vs. Travis Sthele)
Frederick Keys vs. Wilmington Blue Rocks, Game 2 (TBD vs. TBD)
Delmarva Shorebirds vs. Hickory Crawdads, Game 1, 5:05pm ET (Esteban Mejia vs. Alejandro Chiquillo)
Delmarva Shorebirds vs. Hickory Crawdads, Game 2 (TBD vs. TBD)
