The Orioles’ farm system had plenty going on Wednesday, but the loudest performance came from Double-A, where Joseph Dzierwa kept rolling and Chesapeake took care of business in a tight one. Triple-A needed extra innings, High-A got burned late, and Low-A ran into a rough night on the scoreboard.
At Triple-A, Norfolk outlasted Gwinnett 6-5 in 10 innings, even though the Tides barely cracked the hit column. Trey Gibson worked through six innings and came away with a no-decision after giving up four runs on five hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts. The bullpen backed him up well from there: Dietrich Enns fired two scoreless innings with one strikeout, Codi Heuer was perfect in the ninth, and Nick Raquet allowed the Manfred runner to score in the 10th before otherwise shutting the Stripers down.
Norfolk’s offense did its damage with patience and timely contact. The Tides collected just four hits, struck out 15 times, and still drew seven walks.
Rece Hinds delivered the biggest swing of the night, lining a bases-loaded double in the bottom of the 10th to bring home Payton Eeles and Luis Vàzquez for the win. It was Norfolk’s only hit with runners in scoring position all game.
Vàzquez also launched his fifth homer of the season, a solo shot in the seventh. Jud Fabian added the other RBI on a sacrifice fly.
Heston Kjerstad and Creed Willems each went 1-for-4 with a run scored, while Reed Trimble finished 0-for-4 with a walk and three strikeouts.
In Double-A, Chesapeake beat Reading 3-2 behind another gem from Dzierwa. The left-hander threw six shutout innings, allowing one hit, three walks, and seven strikeouts.
His Double-A ERA is now down to 1.89 over 71.1 innings. Sebastian Gongora handled the final three innings for the save, though he gave up two runs on four hits, a walk, and three strikeouts.
The Baysox offense didn’t need much. Aron Estrada jumped on the first pitch of the game and sent it out for his 18th home run of the season.
Frederick Bencosme later knocked in Wehiwa Aloy to make it 2-0 in the opening inning. Chesapeake’s third run came on a sacrifice fly from Fernando Peguero in the fourth.
Aloy, Peguero, and Tavian Josenberger each stole a base, and Griff O’Ferrall swiped two.
Frederick’s High-A game followed a different script entirely, as Bowling Green beat the Keys 6-2 in 10 innings. The pitching staff had held up well for most of the night.
Stephen Still gave up one run over 5.2 innings, walking two and striking out four. Teddy Sharkey added 1.1 scoreless frames, Braeden Sloan allowed one run in the eighth while striking out three, and Todd Kniebbe struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth.
But Chandler Marsh couldn’t finish the job in extras. He faced seven hitters, walked two, gave up two singles and a double, and was charged with four runs, three earned, before getting out of the inning.
Frederick’s offense got its first lift from Jordan Sanchez, who hit his first High-A homer of the year in the fourth inning to put the Keys ahead 1-0 at the time. Randal Diaz picked up the other RBI with a bunt single in the eighth that scored DJ Layton. Leandro Arias had the team’s only other extra-base hit with a double, and Enddy Azocar went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
Delmarva’s Low-A matchup ended with a 10-3 loss to Salem RidgeYaks, though there were a few bright spots mixed in. KK Clark worked five innings and allowed three runs on three hits, four walks, and two strikeouts.
Dalton Neuschwander had a rough two innings, surrendering seven runs on six hits, a walk, and a home run. Adrian Heredia was the one reliever who really stood out, tossing two shutout innings with one hit allowed and two strikeouts.
At the plate, Eric Booth Jr. hit second and served as the designated hitter, finishing 1-for-4 with a single and a walk. Stiven Martinez drove in two of Delmarva’s runs, both on a fifth-inning triple that gave the Shorebirds a 2-1 lead at the time.
Elvin Garcia followed with a single to score Martinez. Those were Delmarva’s only two hits with runners in scoring position, as the team went 2-for-9 in those spots.
Félix Amparao added a single, a stolen base, and a run scored from the bottom of the order, while Jaiden Lo Re went 0-for-3 with two walks out of the leadoff spot.
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