On the farm, a team chemistry lesson

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

May 09, 2021, 2:26pm

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The Double-A Bowie Baysox came this close to a 4-0 start. They were an out away from a one-run win on Friday at Altoona, but they got tied in the ninth and lost 5-4 in 10 innings to fall to 3-1.

The Baysox (3-2) also lost Saturday and they were rained out on Sunday.

So after today's off-day, Bowie will host Reading on Tuesday night in its home opener. It will be the first Bowie home game in 605 days - that is one year, seven months and 27 days.

And lefty DL Hall will get the start. In the season opener, he threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings on two hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts.

Recently I wrote this profile on Hall heading into the 2021 season.

Manager Buck Britton, who led Bowie to the Eastern League Championship Series in 2019, returned this year to manage again at Double-A. One aspect he said should bode well for his team is solid team chemistry.

"The thing I'll say: The camaraderie they have is pretty incredible," Britton said in a recent interview. "A lot of these guys have played together a little bit. We don't have a ton of experience at the Double-A level. But they get along really well and everyone is super excited. Most of these guys weren't able to play last year. They get along so well and the clubhouse vibe is good already. And having that goes a long way."

When it comes to a chemistry lesson, Triple-A manager Gary Kendall said the same of his club during an interview on the eve of the season opener. But Norfolk started the year 0-3 as its pitching allowed 28 runs.

Then the Tides got in the win column Friday with a 5-3 win over Jacksonville, and they won 5-4 in 10 innings Saturday when Yusniel Diaz hit a game-tying two-run homer in the ninth and Richie Martin's single in the 10th broke the 4-all tie.

But on Sunday, Norfolk gave up a big number again in a 9-7 loss, so they are 2-4 after the season's first week. Lefty Alexander Wells allowed five runs in two innings in his Triple-A debut, while Rylan Bannon went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.

Kendall's team did well when his squad played in those alternate site games leading into the season.

"We did play seven (alternate site) ballgames against the Nationals and we played really well," he said. "I thought overall we pitched pretty well and I was really, really excited how we swung the bat. I know it was a small sample size against one club, but even our at-bats against their teammates, I really like the aggression and how we swung the bat. I saw a little bit of power. I saw some guys that can hit the ball to all fields. We hit a lot in the cage and on the field daily. We also played a lot of intrasquad games.

"I've been managing here for quite a while, and I can say this team really gets along very well and they pull for their teammates. I know everybody should say that, but this is a club that is very close. I'm excited about it and looking forward to the season. Been quite a while since any of us played a season."

Aberdeen's unbeaten start to the season ended with Sunday's 6-5 loss at Wilmington. But the IronBirds have a 5-1 start to their season. Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez allowed one run and four hits in 3 1/3 innings Sunday and has a 1.23 ERA in two high Single-A starts.

Aberdeen shortstop Joey Ortiz went 3-for-5 yesterday and is batting .348. Toby Welk went 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Aberdeen starting pitchers have allowed just two runs in 26 1/3 innings.

The big club had a tough weekend: The Orioles have lost three in a row to Boston with the fourth game in the series set for tonight. The Red Sox beat the Orioles 4-3 Sunday, dropping Baltimore to 15-19 overall, 4-13 at home, 6-10 in American League East games and 4-4 in one-run decisions

Right-hander Dean Kremer took some steps forward, allowing just one run through five innings, but back-to-back singles started the Boston sixth. Both runs scored and were charged to his record and Kremer is now 0-3 with a 6.23 ERA.

Cedric Mullins hit his sixth homer. Before 2021, he had never hit more than four in any season. In his major league career coming into this year, Mullins had seven homers and a slugging percentage of .342 in 418 plate appearances. Now he has seven homers and is slugging .530 in 149 PAs.

So he averaged a homer every 60 plate appearances before this year and has averaged one every 25 PAs this season.