Chesapeake blew a three-run lead and fell 5-4 to Portland on Thursday, but the night’s real story was another strong outing from Anthony Eyanson — the pitching prospect Baltimore acquired in the trade that sent franchise catcher Adley Rutschman to Boston.
The Baysox led 4-1 entering the seventh before Portland scored the game’s final four runs on three solo home runs and a sacrifice fly. Henry Godbout hit two of those homers, including a go-ahead shot in the ninth off Chesapeake lefty Micah Ashman (L, 2-2), Portland’s first lead of the night. Chesapeake had a chance to answer immediately, putting the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the ninth, but grounded into a game-ending double play.
Eyanson, making his outing exactly one month after being traded to Baltimore’s organization, threw six innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out eight in a no-decision. It was his second quality start in his last three outings; across five Double-A starts for Chesapeake, he’s now 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA, 40 strikeouts against just eight walks, and has struck out at least seven batters in every appearance.
That performance carries real weight given how Eyanson arrived in Baltimore’s system. On Aug. 3, the Orioles sent Rutschman, a former franchise cornerstone, along with pitcher Jake Rogers and cash to the Red Sox in a six-player deal that brought back Eyanson, outfielder Enddy Azócar, catcher Carlos Narváez, pitcher Kyson Witherspoon, and outfielder Harold Rivas — one of the most scrutinized trades of the 2026 deadline. Eyanson, a 2025 third-round pick who’d already been named to that year’s All-Star Futures Game, quickly became Baltimore’s top-ranked prospect after the trade, and has continued rolling since, including a career-best seven-inning, eight-strikeout start in late August.
Offensively, Chesapeake got on the board first in the second inning, when Anderson De Los Santos doubled home Vance Honeycutt. Colin Tuft, his third Double-A homer in 13 games, put the Baysox up 2-1 with a solo shot before a string of four straight singles — including a Fernando Peguero dash from first to home and RBI knocks from Honeycutt and Ethan Anderson — pushed the lead to 4-1. Griff O’Ferrall finished 3-for-4, his second three-hit game of the season, and Honeycutt went 3-for-5 with an RBI, extending a hot stretch since his Sept. 18 promotion: he now leads the Baysox with a .313 average and 10 RBI over his last 13 games.
Portland reliever Max Carlson (W, 5-2) threw two scoreless innings to pick up the win, and Caleb Bolden closed it out for his second save.
Chesapeake continues its final regular-season homestand Friday against Portland, with right-hander JT Quinn opposing Sea Dogs lefty Michael Sansone. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. at Prince George’s Stadium.
