Notes From the Minors 6/16

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Written by Chris Slade

Derek Peterson went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, and 4 RBI tonight for the Shorebirds. He's the Hangout Milb Player of the Night.

Tides [AAA] Won 4 to 2

Chris Jones lowered his ERA to 2.20 with another solid outing (5 IP, 6 H, ER, 0 BB, 5 K).

Sean Halton went 3-for-4 with an RBI double.

Baysox [AA]

OFF

Keys [A+] Lost 10 to 2

Kevin Gausman worked two innings allowing a solo home run.

Tucker Nathans went 3-for-4 with a double.

Shorebirds [A] Won 9 to 6

Brian Gonzalez picked up the win (5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K).

Jay Gonzalez singled twice and walked twice.

Shorebirds [A] Won 4 to 0

Nick Cunningham pitched a scoreless outing (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, BB, 2 K).

Elier Leyva went 2-for-2 with an RBI single and a walk.

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Ian Locke

Sean Halton’s three-hit night and a strong outing from three Tides hurlers lifted Norfolk to a 4-2 win over the Columbus Clippers Tuesday night at Harbor Park.

The game was called due to heavy rain in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Halton – who was playing just his fifth game with Norfolk after being promoted from Double-A Bowie, singled twice and added an RBI double to help power the Tides to their second straight win. Halton also added a stolen base as he saw his average rise to .313 (5-16) with Norfolk.

Tides starter Chris Jones turned in another strong outing as he allowed one run over five innings of work. Jones, who leads Orioles minor leaguers and ranks second in the IL with a 2.20 ERA this season, struck out five without walking a batter to improve his record to 3-4. The 26-year-old southpaw, who is the reigning International League Pitcher of the Week, has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his 16 appearances (and each of his eight starts) this season.

Steve Clevenger had a single and a sac fly to help pace the offense, while Paul Janish added an RBI single. Clevenger, who is hitting .336 with Norfolk this season, has now hit safely in six straight games and 17 of his last 19 games with the tides.

Wesley Wright – on a rehab assignment with a left trapezius strain – allowed a solo homer in his first appearance with the Tides. T.J. McFarland followed Wright’s effort and worked two perfect innings to pick up his first save of the season.

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Geoff Arnold

GONZALEZ AND KEYS DERAILED BY BIG FOURTH INNING

GAUSMAN SURRENDERS SOLO HOME RUN OVER TWO FRAMES

FREDERICK, Md.-Luis Gonzalez surrendered seven runs in 1.2 innings, while the Carolina Mudcats batted around in the fourth frame to earn a 10-2 win on Tuesday night at Nymeo Field. It was the Keys sixth straight loss to the Muddies this season, while it trimmed the team’s elimination number to two. Making his second MLB rehab start with Frederick, Kevin Gausman tossed two innings of one-run baseball to go along with two strikeouts. The only hit he allowed came via a solo homer on the game’s first pitch to Sean Godfrey.

Gausman tossed 29 pitches, 20 for strikes and exited with a no-decision. In the home-second, the Keys evened the score at one apiece. Chance Sisco reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a second bounce out by Adrian Marin. That sent up Wynston Sawyer, who stroked an RBI off Seth Webster. Both of the club’s RBIs on the night came from Sawyer, who went 2-for-4.

From there, the Mudcats scored seven times in the next two innings. After a Jacob Schrader RBI groundout in the third, Carolina sent 10 to bat in the fourth. Three straight doubles by Carlos Franco, Joey Meneses and Connor Lien opened the inning, with Meneses and Lien both picking up RBIs. Joe Odom would follow with a two-run homer to make 4-0, while a walk, a single and a throwing error by Gregory Lorenzo in right kept the inning alive. Two batters later, Jacob Schrader completed the scoring with a base knock to the opposite field.

Five of the seven runs were earned against Gonzalez (4-6) who allowed seven hits in 1.2 innings. He walked one and struck out one.

His counterpart, Webster (3-2), was outstanding through seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits. Signed by the Braves out of independent ball in May, the right-hander has turned in quality starts in four of his first five Carolina League outings.

Carolina scored twice in the eighth to complete its scoring. A walk and three singles accounted for the first marker, while a throwing error to first by Sisco with the bases loaded accounted for the second. On the game, the Keys committed five errors, one-short of a season-high.

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Doug Newton

Shorebirds Sweep Doubleheader in Lakewood

9-6 slugfest in opener, 4-0 shutout in nightcap

LAKEWOOD, N.J. -- The Delmarva Shorebirds pulled off their first doubleheader sweep of the season, taking both halves of a twinbill with the Lakewood BlueClaws on Tuesday evening. Delmarva (31-33) continued their offensive outburst from Monday with a 9-6 win in game one, then relied on strong pitching in a 4-0 shutout.

After scoring a season-high 13 runs on Monday, Delmarva put up two big rallies in game one on Tuesday, starting with four runs in the second. Derek Peterson sailed a two-run shot to right field, his first home run of his professional career. Peterson also slammed a two-run double to center in the fourth, part of a five-run frame.

Conor Bierfeldt knocked a two-run single in the fourth, pushing his league-leading RBI total to 53. Jay Gonzalez also slapped an RBI single to help build a 9-1 lead.

Lakewood slowly crept back into the game, but the margin proved to be too much to overcome. Ivan Hernandez made his Shorebirds’ debut, surrendering two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. The BlueClaws brought the tying run to the plate, but Garrett Cortright finished off the 9-6 final for his third save. Brian Gonzalez evened his record to 4-4 with a win.

In game two, Nick Cunningham and Mike Burke dominated with a superb pitching performance. Cunningham pitched five scoreless frames in the start, his longest outing of the year. Burke retired all six batters he faced to close out the night.

Timely hitting pushed Delmarva over the top in the nightcap. Peterson sparked a two-out rally with a double to left-center, and then back-to-back RBI singles by Riley Palmer and Elier Leyva broke the ice. Consecutive triples in the seventh by Jared Breen and Jay Gonzalez made it a 4-0 Shorebirds lead.

Cunningham improved to 2-3 with the win, now having allowed just one run in his last 21 innings pitched going back to May 6th. Mike Burke picked up his first save as a Shorebird with two perfect frames.