Notes From the Minors 5/13

Down at Norfolk, Dariel Alvarez hit a two-run homer. He also drew a walk. He's the Hangout Minor League Player of the Night

Tides [AAA] Won 3 to 1

Chris Jones made the start (5 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 3 K).

Henry Urrutia hait an RBI single and drew a walk.

Baysox [AA] Lost 5 to 2

Parker Bridwell took the loss (5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K).

Glynn Davis singled and stole a base.

Keys [A+] Lost 11 to 2

Luis Gonzalez served up 8 earned runs.

Adrian Marin hit two singles, walked, and drove in a run.

http://www.orioleshangout.com/article/5107/minor-league-game-summaries-513

Geoff Arnold

Lynchburg, Va.-The Lynchburg Hillcats scored eight times off Luis Gonzalez in the bottom of the second inning, as the Keys suffered an 11-2 defeat on Wednesday night at City Stadium. It was the most-lopsided loss of the roadtrip, and marked Frederick’s second nine-run setback in the Hill City this year.

In the home-second, the Hillcats sent 12 men to bat against Gonzalez. After a walk to Paul Hendrix to open the inning, a single by Joe Sever and a free pass to Mike Papi with one out loaded the bases. That sent up Ivan Castillo, who drove in Hendrix and Sever before a walk to Luigi Rodriguez reloaded the bases for Clint Frazier. He brought one home on a swinging bunt, before Bradley Zimmer played two more with a base hit to right making it 5-2 Lynchburg.

Nellie Rodriguez (sac-fly) and Paul Hendrix (single) both added RBIs knocking Gonzalez out of the game, while Sever completed the scoring with an RBI double off Nik Nowottnick.

The shortest outing by a Keys starter this year, Gonzalez allowed a career-high eight runs over 1.2 innings on six hits. He walked four and struck out two. It was the shortest outing by a Keys starter this season.

Frederick’s only runs came in the top of the second off Hillcats starter Michael Peoples. Brenden Webb drew a walk to open the inning, then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. From there, Adrian Marin would bring him in with a single to center and get to second on an error by Zimmer in center. Two batters later, Marin would come home on a sac-fly by Austin Wynns.

Peoples (2-3) completed five innings for the Hillcats to earn the win. Over five innings, he allowed two runs on six hits, walked two and struck out four. Clayton Cook followed with three hitless innings, while Ben Heller pitched a clean ninth, striking out two.

Ian Locke

Dariel Alvarez hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, powering Norfolk to a 3-1 win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders Wednesday afternoon at Harbor Park.

With the score knotted at 1-1 in the eighth frame, Henry Urrutia worked a one-out walk from Jared Burton (0-1) before Alvarez followed with a long drive over the left-center field wall. It was the team-leading third home run of the season for Alvarez and snapped a stretch of 429 plate appearances by Tides batters without a home run.

The late homer made a winner out of Cesar Cabral (1-0), who earned his first win of the season with 1.1 shutout innings of relief. Cabral has yet to allow a run this season, as the 26-year-old southpaw has struck out 16 over 13.0 innings out of the bullpen.

Oliver Drake worked the ninth inning, striking out two to pick up his seventh save of the season. Drake now owns a 1.15 ERA (2 ER, 15.2 IP) in 14 outings this year.

Making his second start of the season, Norfolk hurler Chris Jones yielded seven hits and three walks over five innings, but did not yield a run as he utilized two double plays en route to stranding eight men on base. He threw 53 of his season-high 85 pitches for strikes as he lowered his season ERA to 2.38.

The win gave Norfolk its third consecutive series victory, as the Tides wrapped up their homestand with a 5-1 record.

The Tides open up a seven-game road trip Thursday night in the first of a four-game set at Indianapolis. Zach Davies (1-1, 2.30) gets the start for Norfolk against right-hander Charlie Morton, who is making a Major League rehab assignment with the Indians.

Notes: Jorge Rondon made his Tides debut after being claimed by Baltimore on Sunday, allowing one run over 1.2 innings of work…Christian Walker went 0-for-4, snapping his hitting streak at eight games…Jayson Nix made two exceptional defensive plays, robbing Rob Segedin of a base hit in the second inning with a diving catch before starting a nifty double play in the fourth inning on a ground ball on a ball hit by Nick Noonan…The Tides turned three double plays in the contest.

Matt Wilson

Bowie, Md. - Altoona swept a three-game road series against the Baysox with a 5-2 win Wednesday afternoon despite trailing 2-0 after five innings. The teams entered the series tied for first place in the Eastern League's Western Division.

The Baysox took an early lead in each of the three games only to see that lead disappear as the game progressed. Uncharacteristic struggles from the Baysox defense (six errors committed in the series) and the bullpen that surrendered two runs Wednesday helped lead the Baysox to those lost leads after being an asset during the team's 6-1 homestand last week.

The Baysox took an early lead in the top of the second inning against Altoona starter Tom Harlan. Quincy Latimore hit a one-out double to left field and scored on an Ozzie Martinez two-out single to right field to give Bowie a 1-0 lead.

Bowie added another run in the top of the fifth inning. Glynn Davis hit a one-out single to right field, stole second base and went to third after a throwing error by catcher Jacob Stallings. Davis then came around to score on a Garabez Rosa single to center field to make the score 2-0.

The Curve came back to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning against Baysox starter Parker Bridwell. Bridwell walked the first two batters of the inning and they both advanced after an error on a pickoff attempt by catcher Chris O'Brien. A groundout and a Dan Gamache double tied the game before Ben Rowen replaced Bridwell on the mound. Rowen surrendered a single to Stallings that brought home the third run of the inning and gave Altoona the 3-2 lead.

Altoona added some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Willy Garcia hit a one-out double to left field and reliever Mychal Givens then replaced Rowen on the mound. With two outs, Gamache brought home Garcia with a single to left field before stealing second base and scoring on an Eric Wood single to right field to make the score 5-2.

Bridwell pitched 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out three and walking three in the loss. Rowen pitched two innings in relief, allowing two hits and striking out two batters.

Harlan took the win, throwing six innings and allowing two runs on five hits while striking out one and walking two in his first start of the season.