A few minor league notes and a few O's pitching stats

The Orioles' four full-season minor league teams are currently playing .576 ball with a combined record of 34-25 through 59 games. The Orioles have three first-place teams among four as Double-A Bowie, high Single-A Aberdeen and low Single-A Delmarva are all either in or tied for first place in their respective leagues.

Triple-A Norfolk is the outlier, and it's been a tough year for the Tides between injuries and losses. They have lost seven in a row and 9 of 10 to fall to 3-12. The Tides rank last in the Triple-A East in rotation ERA at 8.32. Last among 20 teams, so, yes, room for improvement.

Tides relievers have posted a 0.60 ERA (1 earned run, 15 innings pitched) over the first three games of the current homestand. Right-hander Konner Wade has tossed 11 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings and has allowed just one run in 15 2/3 innings this season.

Catcher Brett Cumberland has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games and is batting .372/.449/.628 (16-for-43) with six runs, two doubles, three home runs, eight RBIs and six multi-hit games over that span. Cumberland is batting .361 (13-for-36) against right-handed pitching.

Infielder Mason McCoy has hit safely in 11 of his 13 games and currently has a five-game hitting streak, over which he is batting .429 (9-for-21) with three runs scored, a double, two RBIs and three walks. Catcher Austin Wynns leads qualified Tides hitters in batting average (.344) and slugging percentage (.568).

Double-A Bowie (11-3) has won two of three this week at Richmond and eight of its last nine games. Baysox starting pitchers rank fourth in their league in rotation ERA at 3.69. The Baysox are 9-0 when DL Hall, Kyle Bradish or Kevin Smith get the start. Together, that trio has struck out 66 batters in 38 2/3 innings. Right-hander Ofelky Peralta is tonight's scheduled starter with Hall (1-0, 3.75 ERA) slated to pitch again on Sunday at Richmond.

Infielder Terrin Vavra, acquired last August from Colorado in the trade for reliever Mychal Givens, is off to a strong start. He ranks sixth in the league in batting (.356) for the Baysox and is third in OBP (.508) and OPS (1.153). Third baseman Patrick Dorrian is second in homers (five), RBIs (15), slugging (.744) and OPS (1.236). The Baysox have three of the top 10 in OPS in the Double-A Northeast with Dorrian second, Vavra third and J.C. Escarra 10th (.983).

High Single-A Aberdeen got shut out 7-0 by Wilmington last night to fall to 9-6. Aberdeen starting pitchers rank third in that league in rotation ERA at 2.59. Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is expected to get the start for the IronBirds tonight at home versus Wilmington. Rodriguez is 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA. In 12 1/3 innings, he has allowed eight hits and two runs with four walks and 23 strikeouts. Rodriguez ranks eighth in that league in ERA and his teammate, right-hander Kyle Brnovich, is third. He is 2-0 with a 1.15 ERA and has walked one and fanned 17 in 15 2/3 innings.

Low Single-A Delmarva (11-4) lost in extra innings last night to see its eight-game winning streak come to an end. The Shorebirds have scored 109 runs this year - that is 7.3 per game. The Shorebirds' eight-game winning streak was the longest for the club since a 10-gamer back in 2019. During the victory streak, Delmarva batters hit .282 while scoring 74 runs with 12 homers. The pitching staff had a 2.63 ERA during the streak, striking out 88 in 72 innings.

Delmarva ranks fourth in its league in rotation ERA at 3.53. Right-hander Zach Peek (1-0, 5-63 ERA), another of the four pitchers acquired from the Angels in the Dylan Bundy deal of December 2019, gets tonight's start. Righty Jake Lyons is Saturday's scheduled starter with righty Brandon Young to pitch on Sunday.

O's pitching takes a hit: As they begin a series at Nationals Park tonight, the Orioles are looking to turn around their recent pitching. The Orioles have allowed five runs or more for seven straight games. Starting on May 12 against the New York Mets, they have given up seven, five, eight, six, 13, nine and 10 runs. That is 58 runs in that seven-game stretch.

The O's bullpen has a 5.79 ERA the last 17 games. The rotation has an ERA of 8.93 the past 11 games.

So, yeah, rough.

But the hope is the O's can get some solid pitching back on track as they move outside the division for the next 18 games.

When the O's have played the American League East this year, they are 8-15 with a 5.64 ERA and have allowed 1.87 homers per game.

When they have played outside the division, they are 9-11 with a 3.57 ERA and have allowed 1.10 homers per game.

Tonight they begin a 10-game road trip that heads to Minnesota and on to play the Chicago White Sox after three games in Washingon.

The Orioles are 8-2-5 in all-time season series against Washington, losing just two years out of 15. They are 46-36 all-time in games versus the Nats. They swept a three-game series at Nationals Park last season by scores of 11-0, 5-3 and 6-2.