The IronBirds have finally climbed over the .500 mark, and they did it by beating their sister state rival, the Wilmington Blue Rocks. In the five-game set, the IronBirds would take three of the games.
Even more impressive is that the offense scored four or more runs in each game and had three games with six runs. Aberdeen is now three games into the second half of the season and currently sits one game back out of first place but also moves to 34-33 overall on the year.
Let’s take a look at who stood out for the IronBirds this week.
CREED WILLEMS – C/1B
Creed Willems, a friend of the site, is quickly establishing himself as the next big catcher to come through the Orioles’ minor league system. Strong armed and displaying power, Willems put himself on display against the Blue Rocks by collecting seven hits in five games for a .384 average in the series.
In Tuesday’s 7-6 loss, Willems would collect two of Aberdeen’s seven hits and drive in half of their six runs. Going 2-for-3 at the plate, Willems would hit a three-run home run and also pick up a walk for the game.
For the season, Willems is slashing .278/.400/.550 across two levels. He has hit 13 home runs and drove in 41 runs for the season. Across a combined 51 games, Willems has scored 30 runs and has walked 31 times.
FREDERICK BENCOSME – INF
Bencosme, who jumped three levels in his first year, continued his strong June in this series. Hitting .400 in the five games, the 20-year-old Dominican had three games with multiple hits, but his best game came in Thursday’s 6-5 IronBirds’ victory.
In the game, Bencosme went 4-for-5, including a double, while scoring a run and driving in two. It was Bencosme’s first four-hit game of the season.
For the season, Bencosme is slashing .235/.338/.300. He has 23 RBIs and 28 runs scored across 57 games while stealing 13 bases. Bencosme has a 38 to 30 strikeout to walk ratio for the season.
KYLE VIRBITSKY – RHP
Virbitsky is quickly looking like another Mike Elias steal. The 24-year-old was the second piece acquired in the Darell Hernaiz trade that landed the O’s left-hander Cole Irvin.
Virbitsky has pitched 19.2 innings this month and allowed only five hits and two earned runs, good for a 0.92 ERA for the month, while opponents are batting just .081 against him.
https://twitter.com/CoachBerto12/status/1673122950063747072?t=HY4kSghzGrYlrv0cg5QwQA&s=19
In Sunday’s 5-2 IronBirds’ victory, Virbitsky pitched his best game of the season. Completing six innings, he would allow just one hit and no runs. The tall right-hander threw 79 pitches (57 for strikes) while striking out eight batters.
For the season, Virbitsky improves to 2-1 across 13 games (five starts). He has an ERA of 4.91 across 47.2 innings with a 1.30 WHIP. He has struck out 54 batters while walking only 22, while opponents are hitting .230 off him.
The IronBirds are off on Monday before welcoming the Winston Salem Dash to town. Will Aberdeen continue their climb over .500 and improve their standing in the division? It all starts Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. EST.
Who stood out to you for Aberdeen this week? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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