The Chesapeake Baysox used a pair of late runs without a hit and a strong performance from the back end of the bullpen to earn a 4-3 victory over the Altoona Curve on Thursday night at Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie.
The Orioles Double-A affiliate improved to 13-16 and snapped a six-game losing streak. Altoona is the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Entering the bottom of the eighth trailing 3-2, the Baysox loaded the bases on three consecutive walks from Altoona left-hander Jaden Woods (0-1). Anderson De Los Santos grounded into a fielder’s choice at third base, allowing Brandon Butterworth to score the tying run. Aron Estrada then chopped a grounder to first base. An errant throw by Curve shortstop Jack Brannigan allowed Ethan Anderson to score the go-ahead run.
Anderson shined all night. The catcher opened the scoring in the first with a solo home run on the tenth pitch of his at-bat — his fourth of the season. It was his third consecutive game with a home run. Anderson is now 7-for-11 this week with three homers and five RBI.
Altoona took a brief 2-1 lead in the third on a double by Javier Rivas. Chesapeake regained the lead in the fourth on a Brannigan error before Altoona tied it in the fifth on a throwing error by De Los Santos. Right-hander Juaron Watts-Brown went four and one-third innings for the Baysox, striking out six.
The Curve took a 3-2 lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Titus Dumitru. Right-hander Cohen Achen worked one and two-thirds scoreless innings of relief, lowering his season ERA to 0.87 at Double-A. Right-hander Zane Barnhart (1-0) then retired the next three hitters in the ninth to secure the win after stranding a leadoff double.
In a separate announcement, the Baysox and Baltimore Orioles confirmed that infielder Jackson Holliday began a major-league rehab assignment with Chesapeake on Thursday. Holliday went 0-for-3 as the designated hitter. The 2022 top overall draft pick last played for the Baysox in 2023 and made his MLB debut in 2024. He underwent surgery to repair a fractured right hamate bone in February.
Prince George’s Stadium, located about an hour’s drive from Southern Maryland, continues to draw fans from Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties who enjoy affordable minor-league baseball and a chance to see future Orioles stars up close.
The Baysox have won two of the first three games in their six-game series with Altoona. The series continues Friday night with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. from Prince George’s Stadium in Bowie.
