Orioles prospects light up for 26 runs in record-setting show

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Heston Kjerstad went 5-for-7 with two home runs and 10 RBIs to lead the Norfolk Tides to a 26-11 rout of the Charlotte Knights in the Triple-A International League on Wednesday night.

Kyle Stowers had three homers, four hits and seven RBIs for the Baltimore Orioles‘ Triple-A affiliate, and No. 1 overall prospect Jackson Holliday had four hits against the Chicago White Sox farm team. Norfolk set team records for runs, hits (29) and home runs (eight).

Kjerstad is batting .583 (14-for-24) with four homers and 18 RBIs in five games, while Stowers is hitting .400 (10-for-25) with five homers and 14 RBIs. Holliday, a son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, is hitting .400 (10-for-25) with two homers and eight RBIs for the Tides, who are off to a 4-1 start. Holliday, a 20-year-old middle infielder, was the top pick in the 2022 amateur draft.

Kjerstad, a 25-year-old outfielder ranked as the No. 48 prospect in the minors, hit a go-ahead RBI double in the first, a three-run homer in the sixth off Aaron McGarity, a two-run single in the seventh and a grand slam in the eighth against Danny Mendick, an infielder who appeared in 33 games with the New York Mets last season. The second overall pick in the 2020 amateur draft, Kjerstad set a team record for RBIs.

Stowers, a 26-year-old outfielder selected in the second round in 2019, hit two-run homers in the first off Nick Nastrini and in the sixth against Bailey Horn, and a solo shot in the seventh against McGarity.

Connor Norby hit a solo homer in the fourth against Nicholas Padilla, David Bañuelos hit a two-run drive in the sixth off Horn and Peyton Burdick hit a solo drive in the ninth against Mendick.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.