Orioles minor league recap 4/15: Irish blasts HR before game suspended due to rain

FORT MYERS, FL- FEBRUARY 24: Ike Irish #95 of the Baltimore Orioles bats during a spring training game against the Minnesota Twins on February 24, 2026 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Triple-A: Durham Bulls 4, Norfolk Tides 3 (F/10)

The Tides got out to an early lead thanks to a three-run 3rd, but their offense went silent after that as they fell to the Bulls in extras.

Durham raced out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a pair of doubles in the 2nd. Outfielder Jacob Melton led off the inning with a ground-rule double, stole third base and scored on a double from former 1st-round pick Logan Davidson. Norfolk starter Cameron Weston was able to strand Davidson to limit the damage to just one run, setting the table for the Tides rally in the 3rd.

After Ryan Noda and Jud Fabian began the inning with back-to-back strikeouts, Fernando Peguero started a two-out rally by launching a solo home run to center field. Center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. then singled up the middle and came around to score when José Barrero turned on a low slider and deposited it over the left field fence.

However, those three hits would be the only ones Norfolk registered all afternoon. Trailing 3-1, Durham got a run back in the bottom of the 3rd thanks to a Carson Williams sac fly. The Bulls then tied the game in the 5th when catcher Blake Sabol doubled home Williams to knot things at 3-3.

The contest would remain scoreless until extra innings, where the Tides went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 10th. Norfolk reliever Andrew Magno took over in the bottom of the 10th, moved the Bulls’ Manfred Man over to third on a wild pitch. Melton then ended the game after an eight-pitch battle, lifting a walk-off sac fly to center field to give Durham the win.

Box Score

Double-A: Chesapeake Baysox at New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Ppd.—Rain)

The Baysox and Fisher Cats were rained out in Manchester on Tuesday night. They’ll make up the game as part of a doubleheader later today.

High-A: Hudson Valley Renegades 4, Frederick Keys 2 (Susp.—Top 3rd)

After six runs were scored in the first two innings of Tuesday’s game between the Keys and Renegades, rain forced them into an early suspension. The game will resume late today before the teams’ regularly scheduled game.

Before the suspension of play, we did get a solo HR from Orioles’ No. 4 prospect Ike Irish. The 2025 first-round pick blasted his second long ball of the season and is batting .364 with a 1.167 OPS in six games for the Keys this season.

Box Score

Low-A: Fredericksburg Nationals 21, Delmarva Shorebirds 4

The Shorebirds’ pitching staff was thoroughly destroyed on Tuesday night, as the Nationals used a 10-run 3rd inning to propel themselves to a complete massacre of Delmarva.

The O’s Low-A affiliate actually went into the bottom of the 3rd inning with a small 1-0 lead. Andrés Nolaya and Junior Aybar led off the top of the 3rd with back-to-back doubles to give the Shorebirds their only lead of the game.

In the bottom of the inning, Nationals’ top prospect Eli Willits led off the inning with a single, and what proceeded from there was an offensive deluge. After the Willits single, the Nationals went triple, single, home run to go from down 1-0 to up 4-1. After a walk, a double and another homer, that advantage grew to 7-1. Fredericksburg then loaded the bases with a single and back-to-back walks, before Ronny Cruz doubled down the left field line to clear the bases and grow the Nationals’ lead to 10-1.

Delmarva would get two runs back in the top of the 4th, thanks to a Braylon Whitaker RBI ground and Nolaya RBI single. However, the Nationals would respond with a five-run bottom of the 4th, capped by a Luke Dickerson three-run homer, to grow the lead to 15-3. Fredericksburg would add another four runs in the 6th and two runs in the 8th, before Delmarva got one last consolation run on a Jordan Sanchez sac fly in the 9th.

Box Score

Wednesday’s Scheduled Games

Norfolk Tides at Durham Bulls, 6:45pm ET (Trey Gibson vs. Marcus Johnson)

Chesapeake Baysox at New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Game 1, 11:05am ET (Evan Yates vs. Chris McElvain)

Chesapeake Baysox at New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Game 2 (TBD vs. TBD)

Frederick Keys vs. Hudson Valley Renegades, Completion of 4/14 Game, 5:00pm ET

Frederick Keys vs. Hudson Valley Renegades, 7:00pm ET (Carson Dorsey vs. Brandon Decker)

Delmarva Shorebirds at Fredericksburg Nationals, 11:05am ET (Kiefer Lord vs. Leuris Portorreal)