Arrieta and Avery lead the way in the minors

Jake Arrieta and Xavier Avery continued their recent success in the O's minors on Saturday. Arrieta pitched seven shutout innings of two-hit ball as Norfolk topped Charlotte 4-2. The right-hander is now 2-0, 0.36 on the year. He has allowed just 1 ER in 25 innings this year to lead the International League in ERA. Last night, he walked one and fanned a career-high 11 batters. The Tides have won three of four games and are 7-10. Norfolk has hit eight homers over its last four games but the Tides lead the IL with 23 errors, seven more than the next team. Brad Bergesen pitches for Norfolk today at 2:15. At this point of his career, Bergesen has made 22 Major League starts to just two at Triple-A. Lefty Pedro Viola, claimed off waivers by the Orioles this week, has been put on the temporary inactive list. Wilfrido Perez suffered a blown save Saturday night as Akron rallied to beat Bowie 8-6. Steve Johnson, after pitching 10 scoreless over his first two starts, has allowed nine runs his past two outings. Joel Guzman hit a three-run homer and has homered in four straight Baysox games, becoming the first Bowie player to do that since Leo Daigle in June of 2006. Bowie's Paco Figueroa is 12 for 20 over his last four games with three doubles and 6 RBI. Tyler Henson is 7 for 12 over three games with 7 RBI. Xavier Avery's bat is sizzling for Frederick. The 20-year-old outfielder went 3 for 5 in Saturday's 10-3 loss to Salem to raise his average to .407. He is now second in batting in the Carolina League. Avery is 14 for 30 over the past six games with three doubles and 6 RBI. He is 2nd in the league in OBP and tied for 2nd in steals and is 4th in hits and runs. At 10-6, Frederick is in first place in the Northern Division with a two-game lead. Delmarva beat Hagerstown 9-3 Saturday as Tyler Stampone had a three-run double and Luis Bernardo knocked in three. Winning pitcher Jake Cowan improved to 2-0, allowing 2 ER with a season-high eight strikeouts. Heading into Sunday's games, the O's four teams have a combined record of 37-26. That is second best among all organizations behind the St. Louis mark of 38-24.