Lefties Sebastian Gongora, Micah Ashman Shine in Ten-Inning Loss to Flying Squirrels Sunday
BOX SCORE Bowie, MD (August 23, 2026) – The Chesapeake Baysox, the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, fell in ten innings to the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, in a 6-5 final Sunday. Left-handers Sebastian Gongora and Micah Ashman combined to pitch seven
Bowie, MD (August 23, 2026) – The Chesapeake Baysox, the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, fell in ten innings to the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, in a 6-5 final Sunday.
Left-handers Sebastian Gongora and Micah Ashman combined to pitch seven and one third scoreless relief innings for Chesapeake (27-23, 56-62) to help send the game to extras tied at three. Richmond scored three runs in the top of the tenth before a Thomas Sosa two-run single brought the Baysox within one, but a Chesapeake strikeout ended the contest.
Gongora and Ashman combined to retire 16 consecutive Richmond batters from the final out of the third to the last out of the eighth.
Playing in his first competitive game since he last pitched for Baltimore 399 days ago, Orioles right-hander Félix Bautista began a MLB rehab assignment with the Baysox. The 2023 Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year and 2021 Baysox alum delivered 22 pitches and featured his sinker hitting 97 miles per hour.
The Flying Squirrels batted around and took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. After a check-swing single and pair of walks, Bautista walked Lisbel Diaz to bring in a run. Bautista was relieved by righty Tyson Neighbors who walked Maui Ahuna for another RBI and induced a Jancel Villarroel sacrifice fly before earning a strikeout.
Gongora came out of the bullpen to start the second. Gongora retired the first four batters he faced then, after giving up a double and a walk, retired the final 13 batters he faced. In a no-decision, Gongora provided six scoreless innings of long relief, giving up just one hit and one walk to four strikeouts.
How about Sebastian Gongora's long relief outing??
— Chesapeake Baysox (@BaysoxOfficial) August 23, 2026
6 IP/1 H/0 R/1 BB/ 4 K
Retired the last 13 batters he faced pic.twitter.com/ftohZeljVk
Across five relief appearances this season Gongora, who has made a team-leading 19 starts, has pitched to a 1.21 ERA (four earned runs in 21 innings) with 16 strikeouts to five walks.
Gongora also leads Double-A and ranks second in all of Minor League Baseball with a 2.27 qualified home ERA this season.
The Baysox plated their first run to cut the Richmond lead to 3-1 on a double steal in the second inning. While Colin Tuft swiped second, Vance Honeycutt (2-for-3, walk, two runs) went from third to home for his first of three steals Sunday.
Chesapeake tied the game at three in the fifth on back-to-back solo home runs. Wehiwa Aloy first crushed his fifth Double-A home run to right center field before Aron Estrada extended his team-lead with a homer to right field, his 22nd home run of the campaign.
We interrupt this Sunday afternoon to tell you that WEHIWA ALOY AND ARON ESTRADA HAVE GONE BACK-TO-BACK to tie the game! pic.twitter.com/TrmHR5o4xX
— Chesapeake Baysox (@BaysoxOfficial) August 23, 2026
Ashman relieved Gongora to start the eighth inning. On his 24th birthday, Ashman pitched a scoreless inning and one third while striking out three.
Micah Ashman strikes out a pair in a 1-2-3 eighth!
— Chesapeake Baysox (@BaysoxOfficial) August 23, 2026
16 Flying Squirrels have been retired consecutively! https://t.co/khPQ9nFSZw pic.twitter.com/vMBdOOKrxu
Ashman now holds a 1.90 ERA (nine runs across 42.2 innings) in 29 Double-A games games this season.
Ashman's home ERA drops to 0.64 ERA (two earned runs across 28.0 innings) across 18 appearances, the second best mark for a Double-A arm with at least 25 innings behind now-major leaguer Kade Anderson.
Richmond right-hander Tyler Vogel (W, 9-2) earned the win by pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
The Flying Squirrels scored their three runs in the top of the tenth against Baysox right-hander Brock Moore (L, 0-1). Richmond hit a leadoff, sacrifice bunt before back-to-back RBI single by Sabin Ceballos and Charlie Szykowny, respectively, put Richmond ahead 5-3. Maui Ahuna added a sacrifice fly for a 6-3 advantage.
Chesapeake showed great resilience while down to its final out in the bottom of the tenth. Honeycutt walked and ran home alongside Dom Keegan, the automatic runner, on Sosa's two-run single. Flying Squirrels righty Marques Johnson (S, 2) pitched the entirety of the tenth inning.
Next, the Baysox head to FNB Field on Tuesday, August 25 to start a six-game series at the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The Baysox are back home at Prince George's Stadium on Tuesday, September 1 at 6:35 pm when they host their final home series by welcoming in the Portland Sea Dogs, the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
Single-game tickets, ticket plans, and group offers for the 2026 season are currently on sale. For more information on the Baysox schedule, tickets, and the latest team news, fans can call 301.805.6000, visit Baysox.com, or follow the team on Facebook, X, and Instagram.