Notes From the Minors 6/29

[weams]

Logan Uxa had a night to remember at the plate for the Shorebirds. He finished 2-for-3 with a three run triple AND a walk off grand slam, driving in all 7 runs in the Shorebirds 7-3 win. Without a doubt, he's the Hangout Milb Player of the Night!

Tides [AAA] Lost 5 to 2

Chris Jones made the start (5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K).

Dariel Alvarez homered, his 12th of the season.

Game 1: Baysox [AA] Won 6 to 3

Elih Villanueva picked up the win (7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K).

Game 2: Baysox [AA] Won 2 to 1

Brandon Snyder homered.

Corban Joseph doubled and drove in a run.

Keys [A+] Lost 11 to 3

Mitch Horacek had a rough outing (3.1 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 K).

Josh Hart went 3-for-5 and is hitting .290 on the season.

Wynston Sawyer went 3-for-4 and stole not one but two bases.

Game 1: Shorebirds [A] Lost 9 to 3

Brian Gonzalez struggled to get outs (4.1 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, BB, 4 K).

Jay Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI.

Game 2: Shorebirds [A] Won 7 to 3

Dariel Delgado made the start (4 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K).

Steve Wilkerson went 2-for-4 with a triple.

IronBirds [sS] Won 5 to 3

Jean Cosme made the start (5 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, BB, 6 K).

Austin Pfeiffer fell a home run shy of the cycle.

Steve Laurino hit two doubles.

GCL Orioles [R] Lost 4 to 1

Reid Love pitched two scoreless innings.

Ronald Soto doubled, walked, and scored.

[weams]

Ian Locke

6/29/2015

Dariel Alvarez homered and Christian Walker had two hits, but the Charlotte Knights plated three runs in the top of the seventh inning in a 6-2 win over the Tides Monday night at Harbor Park.

With the score knotted at 2-2 in the seventh, Charlotte rallied against Norfolk relievers Jorge Rondon (2-1) and Wesley Wright to take the lead. Trayce Thompson opened the inning with an opposite field double off of Rondon, then came home on an RBI single by former Tide Chris Marrero. After a walk and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third, Wright came on to face Micah Johnson but yielded an RBI single through a drawn-in infield. Tyler Saladino then followed with a sacrifice fly to give the Knights a 5-2 advantage.

The Tides had tied the score at 2-2 in the sixth inning on a two-out solo home run by Alvarez. The home run was his team-leading 12th homer of the season – a mark that is tied for second in the International League – and was his sixth long ball in the month of June.

Norfolk starter Chris Jones turned in another solid outing but did not factor in the decision. Jones allowed two runs on six hits over 5.2 innings of work as he walked one and struck out three – the 10th consecutive start in which he’s allowed three earned runs or less. Through 18 games (10 starts) with the Tides this season, the 26-year-old southpaw has a 2.44 ERA – a mark that ranks third in the IL and fourth among Orioles minor leaguers.

Walker was the lone Norfolk player with a multi-hit game as he upped his season-high hitting streak to eight games. Over that span, the 24-year-old South Carolina product has hit .457 (16-35) with two home runs, five multi-hit games and six runs batted in.

With the loss, Norfolk dropped a half-game behind Charlotte in the International League South Division. The setback also snapped Norfolk’s season-high winning streak at six games.

[weams]

Geoff Arnold

June 29, 2015

BLUE ROCKS POWER PAST KEYS, FORCE RUBBER GAME

RAMOS LEADS WILMINGTON WITH FOUR RBIS

FREDERICK, Md.-The Wilmington Blue Rocks powered out 16 hits and turned in three multi-run innings en route to an 11-3 victory over the Frederick Keys on Monday night at Nymeo Field. Five Blue Rocks starters finished with multiple hits, while Sean Manaea held the Keys off balance over five innings, as the orange and black were denied their third straight win.

In the third, the Blue Rocks seized control of the game, scoring three times and sending seven men to bat. After Cam Gallagher knotted the game at two with a solo homer in the second, Mauricio Ramos added a two-run shot in the third off Mitch Horacek. Later in the inning, Gallagher struck again, doubling home Alfredo Escalera.

Horacek (4-8) started the fourth inning, but would be lifted after two of the first three men in the inning reached. His shortest start of the season, the Colorado native surrendered seven runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings. He walked three and struck out four.

Following Horacek’s departure, Ramos ripped a single of the foot of Nik Nowottnick to bring in one run, while an RBI groundout by Frank Schwindel scored Jack Lopez from third.

Ahead 7-2, Wilmington applied the dagger in the seventh, batting around while scoring four additional times against Nowottnick and Dylan Rheault. Logan Moon opened the inning with a single and came in one batter later on a two-bagger by Dominique Taylor. Carlos Garcia followed with a single before Rheault was summoned from the bullpen. He would proceed to walk Lopez, before plunking Ramos to force home a run. With the bases still loaded, Escalera drove in Garcia with a single, before a groundout by Santiago Nessy brought in Lopez.

Manaea (1-0) earned his first win of the season, after missing the entire first half with abdominal/groin injuries. Allowing three runs over five innings, two of the runs were unearned on account of errors by Lopez in the first. In the frame, Jeff Kemp scored with men at second and third after a groundball by Chance Sisco was booted by the Wilmington shortstop, while a successful double steal plated the other run.

The Blue Rocks starter struck out eight, all coming in the first four innings. Frederick struck out 11 times as a club, one-short of a season-high. Yender Caramo and Kevin McCarthy tossed four innings of scoreless relief to close things out.

Josh Hart remained hot at the plate, extending his hitting streak to eight ballgames with a 3-for-5 night. Wynston Sawyer also turned in another strong performance offensively, going 3-for-4 with a run scored.

[weams]

Douglas Newton

6/29/2015

Uxa’s Walk-Off Grand Slam Caps 7-3 Win

Career night with seven RBIs clinches series win

SALISBURY, Md. -- The Delmarva Shorebirds capped off a series victory over the Hagerstown Suns with a walk-off grand slam for a 7-3 win on Monday night. Delmarva (3-2, 36-37) split the doubleheader with Hagerstown, clinching the series win in thrilling fashion.

The evening began with the Suns dominating game one of the doubleheader. Hagerstown built a 9-0 lead, scoring right out of the gates with a two-run triple by Grant DeBruin in the first inning. The Suns scored six runs in the fifth inning for an insurmountable lead.

Delmarva had a couple late rallies snuffed out, notably with a line drive double play with the bases loaded in the fifth. The Shorebirds totalled three runs in the 9-3 defeat in game one with Jay Gonzalez going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Game two turned into a back-and-forth affair as Delmarva relied on the offense of Logan Uxa. The designated hitter skied a sacrifice fly in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. In turn, Jose Marmolejos hit a solo home run for a 2-1 Suns’ advantage in the third inning.

The seesaw battle tilted in Delmarva’s favor with a two-run triple by Uxa in the bottom of the third inning, pushing the Shorebirds in front, 3-2. Hagerstown knotted the game at three runs apiece with a sacrifice fly by Marmolejos in the fifth inning.

With three RBIs already, Uxa played the role of hero again in the seventh. Phildrick Llewellyn reached on a fielding error, and then walks to Gonzalez and T.J. Olesczuk loaded the bases. Uxa launched a deep blast over the right field fence for the walk-off grand slam and a 7-3 final. Uxa finished the night with a career-best seven RBIs, the most by a Shorebird in a single game this season.

[weams]

Daniel Kurish

Birds Batter Batavia

Aberdeen earns series win

June 29, 2014

ABERDEEN, Md.

Summary

Taking the field in the second game of three against the Batavia Muckdogs, the IronBirds looked to win their second in a row. After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the 2nd inning, the IronBirds matched the Muckdogs’ two runs in the bottom of the inning. The Muckdogs retook the lead in the fifth inning thanks to a Ryan Cranmer lead-off homerun, but the IronBirds answered in the bottom of the 6th inning by adding two runs, making the score 4-3. Randy Gassaway provided an insurance run in the 7th inning leading to the final score of 5-3 in favor of the IronBirds.

Back and Forth Begins

Muckdogs designated hitter Blake Anderson single to left field, driving home first baseman Korey Dunbar. IronBirds starter Jean Cosme then balked, allowing Eric Fisher to score from third.

Back

Odenwaelder drove home Steve Laurino to make the score 2-1 on an infield single. A couple batters later, Guillermo Salas knocked in Yariel Vargas on a single to right field. Salas’s RBI tied the game at two

Forth

Ryan Cranmer, the Muckdogs’s third baseman, hit a lead-off homerun to left field on the first pitch he saw in the at-bat, allowing the Muckdogs to reclaime the lead, 3-2

Back to Stay

The sixth inning was sponsored by a series of IronBird hits. Austin Pfieffer led-off the inning with a double down the left field line. Laurino immediately followed suit by adding his own double down the left field line, driving home Pfieffer, evening the score at three. With two outs, Catcher Stuart Levy lined a single to center field bringing home Laurino giving the IronBirds the 4-3 lead.

In the 7th inning, Drew Turbin walked to start the inning. Turbin then stole second base and after the error on the throwdown, Turnbin advanced to third base. Randy Gassaway hit a sacrifice fly to right field bringing home Turbin and making the score 5-3, IronBirds.

Hit Men

Austin Pfieffer and Steve Laurino put on a led the hit parade on Monday night, collecting three hits each. Pfieffer went 3-for-4 with a single, double, and triple. Laurino also went 3-for-4 collecting a single, two doubles, and a RBI.

Strike Force

IronBird pitchers Jean Cosme, Elias Pinales, and Ryan Meisinger combined to strikeout 14 Muckdogs. Cosme pitched 5 innings, allowed 3 runs, and struck out 6. Pinales pitched three innings of scoreless baseball, struck out five batters including the first three batters he faced. Meisinger made his professional debut tonight, striking out three batters, walking one, and recording the save.

Birdwatching

For the second night in a row, the IronBirds’ pitching staff recorded double-digit strikeouts… On Sunday, the IronBirds struck out 12 and on Monday, struck out 14 batters… Monday’s 14 strikeouts was a season high for the team…. Starting pitcher Jean Cosme pitched a career high 5 innings …. Steve Laurino’s bat stayed hot as he hit in his second straight game after losing a six-game hitting streak…. Monday’s game was Laurino’s fifth multi-hit game this season…. Ryan Meisinger in his professional debut struck out the side in the ninth inning to pick up the save.

[weams]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Baysox hang on for doubleheader sweep!! Triggs the save in 2-1 win. On to Akron!!</p>— Bowie Baysox (@BowieBaysox) <a href="

">June 30, 2015</a></blockquote>

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