Cowser, Mayo and Norby advance, plus Orioles-Mariners notes

Minors Monday brought another round of prospect promotions this afternoon.

The Orioles have moved outfielder Colton Cowser and infielders Coby Mayo and Connor Norby from high Single-A Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie.

Sixteen of the organization’s top 17 prospects per MLBPipeline.com are playing at the Double-A level or higher. Outfielder Heston Kjerstad is the exception at Single-A Delmarva.

Cowser, the Orioles’ first-round selection last year out of Sam Houston State University, is batting .258/.385/.411 with 19 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 22 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 17 attempts with the IronBirds.

Mayo, taken in the fourth round in 2020 out of Stoneman-Douglass High in Parkland, Fla., is batting .250/.326/.479 with 14 doubles, a triple, 13 home runs and 42 RBIs. He doesn’t turn 21 until December.

Norby, chosen in the second round last year out of East Carolina University, is batting .237/.311/.425 with seven doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 20 RBIs.

Cowser and Norby are 22 years old.

Mayo’s 13 home runs are tied with Kyle Stowers for second in the system behind Jordan Westburg's 14. His 60 hits rank second behind Westburg’s 71 and his 42 RBIs are tied with Rylan Bannon for third.

Cowser’s 19 doubles are second to Westburg’s 21.

The Orioles open a three-game series tonight in Seattle with the possibility of second baseman Rougned Odor getting back in the lineup.

Odor has been out with a sore back, but he pinch-hit yesterday in Chicago and would be starting for the first time since Tuesday. He’s 0-for-13 since his run-scoring triple June 16 in Toronto.

Tyler Nevin didn’t start yesterday and is trying to heat up. He is 7-for-52 (.135) this month.

Tyler Wells has become the Orioles’ most dependable starter, with his ERA down to 3.34 and WHIP to 1.098.

Wells tossed five scoreless innings in his last outing against the Nationals after registering quality starts in three of four attempts.

The former Rule 5 pick has never faced the Mariners.

A scoring change from Saturday’s game removes an error from shortstop Jorge Mateo and gives it to Austin Hays, who attempted a diving catch, retrieved the ball and bounced his throw to the infield. This is Hays’ first error of the season.

Seattle right-hander George Kirby was the 20^th overall pick in the 2019 draft out of Elon University. He’s 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.122 WHIP in his first major league season, with only six walks in 49 innings.

Kirby shut out the Orioles on four hits and struck out eight batters in six innings on May 31 for his first win.

The Mariners won two of three games in the series. The teams have identical 34-40 records.

Only one of them brawled yesterday. Benches and bullpens cleared in the Mariners-Angels game after Jesse Winker was hit by a pitch. Play was halted for approximately 17 minutes and the Angels won 2-1.

Manager Scott Servais and players Winker, Julio Rodriguez and J.P. Crawford were ejected from Seattle’s side. The Angels’ ejections included interim manager Phil Nevin, Tyler’s father.

The Orioles won two of three in Seattle last season, including John Means' no-hitter. Their last sweep of a three-game series at T-Mobile Park (formerly Safeco Field) occurred in 2012.

The Mariners’ 3.74 ERA ranks eighth in the majors