Kyson Witherspoon stole the spotlight in the Orioles’ minor league system on Friday, but the night still ended the same way it did for much of the affiliates: not enough offense, not enough runs, and a few wasted chances along the way.
The biggest bright spot came in High-A, where Witherspoon turned in the best outing of his young Orioles tenure in Wilmington’s 1-0 win over Frederick in the first game of a doubleheader. The right-hander, making his third start since arriving in the organization in the Adley Rutschman trade, was untouchable for five innings. He threw five hitless, scoreless frames, struck out eight, and walked three for the first hitless outing of his career and his second scoreless one.
That kind of performance usually puts a team in position to cruise. Instead, Frederick’s bats went quiet with him on the mound, and the Keys managed only three hits in the loss, all singles.
Enddy Azocar, another piece of the Rutschman deal, picked up one of those hits. The Keys also drew six walks, but they went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Bradley Brehmer kept the no-hit effort alive in the sixth, but in the seventh Wilmington broke through on a double and a Jacob Walsh walkoff single.
Game 2 of the doubleheader followed a similar script, only this time the Blue Rocks finished off the sweep with a 2-1 win. Frederick again struggled to generate much of anything, finishing the two games with just five hits in 43 at-bats. The Keys did work seven walks across the twin bill, but they kept coming up empty when it mattered most, again going 0-for- with runners in scoring position and scoring their lone run on a double play.
Stephen Still struck out eight in four innings, but he allowed two runs and took the loss. Walsh was the difference again, driving in all three Wilmington runs across the doubleheader with a two-run single in the nightcap and the walkoff RBI in the opener.
Double-A brought a tougher ending for Chesapeake, which led Richmond 2-1 before the Flying Squirrels blew the game open with a three-run eighth inning and held on for a 4-3 win. Patrick Reilly gave the Baysox a strong start, working five innings and allowing one run while striking out six and walking three in what was his best outing since returning from Tommy John surgery.
Chesapeake just couldn’t add on. The Baysox lineup produced only five hits, with Wehiwa Aloy the lone hitter to collect more than one, finishing 2-for-4 with a double.
Aron Estrada, who has been swinging a hot bat, went hitless but still chipped in a sacrifice fly and a walk. The decisive inning went against reliever Ryan Long, who gave up the three-run rally that flipped the game.
In Low-A, Delmarva was shut out by Hickory, 3-0, despite collecting more hits than the scoreboard would suggest. The Shorebirds finished with eight singles but never found a way to turn them into runs. They also didn’t draw a walk, and they had no extra-base hits to help change the game’s shape.
On the mound, though, Esteban Mejia continued to show progress in a shorter outing. He worked 3.1 scoreless innings, struck out five, and walked just one.
The Shorebirds have been keeping his appearances in the two-to-three-inning range as they try to clean up his season-long control issues, and that plan has now paid off three straight times. Brandon Downer was charged with three runs, while Andrew Herbert covered three scoreless innings in relief.
Triple-A never got off the ground, as Norfolk’s game with Nashville was postponed because of wet grounds. The contest will be made up as part of a Saturday doubleheader.
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