Triple-A: Syracuse Mets 5, Norfolk Tides 3
The Tides brought the tying run to the plate twice in the 9th inning, but couldn’t complete the comeback, dropping a back-and-forth series finale to the Mets.
Syracuse took an early lead Sunday against Dean Kremer in the righty’s first rehab start with the Tides. After facing the minimum through the first two innings, Kremer gave up a leadoff double in the 3rd. The Mets turned that into a 1-0 lead two batters later on an RBI double from former 1st-round pick Kevin Parada.
Kremer would walk fellow rehabber
Francisco Lindor before back-to-back groundouts ended the threat without any further damage. The longtime Oriole got two more outs in the 4th before exiting with a final line of 3.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB and 5 K.
Norfolk would take a brief lead in the top of the 5th thanks to a one-out rally. After Jub Fabian led off the inning with a pop-up, Silas Ardoin reached on a single and moved to third on a Bryan Ramos double. Enrique Bradfield Jr. then brought both runners in on a double of his own, giving the Tides a 2-1 lead.
The recently demoted Anthony Nunez gave that lead back in the bottom of the 5th. The reliever loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk before being replaced by starter Nestor German. Coming off a strong start Tuesday, German immediately allowed a ground ball single to left that saw Syracuse take a 3-2 lead. German would also allow an RBI double in the 6th and a solo HR in the 8th to finish with a final line of 3.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB and 1 K.
The Tide got as close as one run in the 8th thanks to a clutch hit from José Barrero. After Bradfield led off the inning with a single, Barrero delivered a two-out double to score the speedster from first and cut the deficit to 4-3. Down two in the 9th, Fabian reached on a one-out double, only to be stranded after groundouts from Ardoin and Ramos ended the game.
Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox 8, Richmond Flying Squirrels 0
Cade Povich looked sharp in a rehab start and the Baysox pitching staff combined for a three-hit shutout in a dominant win over the Flying Squirrels.
The left-hander, pitching for the first time since May 7th due to elbow inflammation, started his outing with a quick 1-2-3 inning that included a pair of strikeouts. Povich would again face the minimum in the 2nd thanks to a pair of lineouts and a fly out. He then struck out the first batter of the 3rd on his way to his third consecutive 1-2-3 inning. The 26-year-old lefty set down his 10th batter in a row to begin the 4th, gave up a one-out single, and then was removed from the game with a final line of 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB and 3 K.
Zane Barnhart struck out the final two batters in the 4th before turning the ball over to Sebastian Gongora in the 5th. The 24-year-old southpaw ran into his only real trouble in his first inning of work, allowing a two-out double and walk before stranding both runners with a strikeout. Gongora would allow exactly one base runner in the 6th through the 9th, but stranded every runner to finish with a final line of 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB (1 HBP) and 3 K, completing the shutout.
The offense was also dominant from the beginning of the game, scoring three runs in the 1st inning and never looking back. Douglas Hodo III led off the bottom of the 1st with a solo HR, before the Baysox got two more runs on a bases-loaded single from Aron Estrada.
Griff O’Ferrall delivered the fourth run of the game in the 3rd, launching a sac fly to score Thomas Sosa from third. Estrada then turned run producer again in the 5th. After Anderson De Los Santos walked and O’Ferrall reached on a single, Estrada doubled into the right field corner to score both and give Chesapeake a 6-0 lead.
Estrada and Hodo finished off the offensive flourish with solo homers in the 7th and 8th, respectively. The pair were the stars of the day for the Baysox lineup, with Hodo going 3-for-5 with nine total bases and two RBIs, while Estrada went 3-for-4 with seven total bases and five RBIs.
High-A: Frederick Keys 8, Hub City Spartanburgers 5
After falling behind early, the Keys stormed back to earn a come-from-behind win in the series finale against Hub City.
Keys’ starter Twine Palmer ran into 1st-inning trouble, walking the bases loaded before a single, a wild pitch and a sac fly gave the Spartanburgers a quick 3-0 lead. RJ Austin immediately chipped away at that deficit, leading off the bottom of the 1st with a solo home run. The Keys then took the lead in the 2nd thanks to another long ball. Leandro Arias started the 2nd-inning rally with a leadoff single and moved to third on a Braylin Tavera double. That set the table for Keys’ catcher Yasmil Bucce, who launched a three-run blast to give Frederick a 4-3 lead.
In the 5th, Bucce grounded a would-be double play ball to first, only for the Hub City SS to air-mail the return throw and allow a fifth Frederick run to score. Tavera and Victor Figueroa padded the Keys’ lead even more with another pair of homers. Tavera launched a solo blast with two outs in the 6th to make the score 6-3. Clean-up hitter extraordinaire Figueroa then launched his 20th homer of the season in the 7th, a two-run shot that put Frederick firmly in the driver’s seat at 8-3.
The Spartanburgers rallied in the 9th, starting the final frame with a walk and a pair of singles to cut the deficit to 8-4. Keys’ reliever Braeden Sloan then rolled a double-play ball that allowed a run to score but got Frederick one out from a victory. Sloan would end the game on another groundout to seal the come-from-behind win.
Low-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans 7, Delmarva Shorebirds 2
The Shorebirds bats couldn’t keep up with the Pelicans offense, as Delmarva dropped its series finale in Salisbury.
Delmarva starter Brayan Orrantia got off to a strong start Sunday, stranding three base runners and striking out six across three scoreless frames. However, things began to fall apart for the Shorebirds and Orrantia in the 4th. The 20-year-old started the inning by giving up a leadoff homer to Logan Poteet and was chased from the game after a two-out RBI single made things 2-0.
The Shorebirds tied the game in the bottom of the 4th thanks to a long ball of their own. Outfielder Jordan Sanchez led off the inning with a single and scored on an Elvin Garcia two-run bomb.
The Shorebirds’ offense ran dry after that, as the Pelicans continued to pour on the runs. Myrtle Beach retook the lead on a two-run single in the 5th and then added another two runs via a Michael Carico home run. The Pelicans scored their final run of the game in the 8th, with a runner on third coming home to score after Shorebirds pitcher Brendan Parks failed to catch a return throw from his catcher. The score could have gotten more out of hand for the Shorebirds had it not been for the Pelicans going 3-for-15 with RISP and accumulating 15 strikeouts.
Monday’s Scheduled Games
Monday is a scheduled off-day for all four Orioles affiliates.
