The Undercards: Hot Rods Offense Explodes for 20

Nice to find the level of offense that even an utter pitching disaster turns into an easy win.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 12, Buffalo Mets 6

This game wasn’t pretty, but it definitely worked out. The Bulls sent Matt Torra to the mound against Mets top prospect Jeurys Familia and Torra was decidedly better, going 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 10 hits, striking out 4 while walking 1 and posting a 5-4 groundout to flyout ratio while Familia got slammed for 7 runs, 6 earned, in just 3.1 innings. The offense for the Bulls had itself a nice day, scoring 12 runs for the second day in a row (and winning 12-6). Henry Wrigley went  3 for 5 with a double and 3 RBI, Tim Beckham (hitting out of the two-hole now) went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and a run scored, and Reid Brignac, whose 20-game on-base streak ended on June 29th, went 1 for 4 with a run scored.

Double-A Southern League: Jackson Generals (SEA) 7, Montgomery Biscuits 2

Alex Colome has had a rough time all season, and Sunday was no exception, but he has shown signs of finally breaking through. Colome got the start for Montgomery and lasted 5 innings allowing 5 runs on 10 hits. But he struck out 3 while walking none and posted an outstanding 8-1 groundout to flyout ratio. On offense, Ty Morrison and Ryan Garko each went 2 for 4, with Morrison and Tyler Bortnick, who went 1 for 3, driving in a run each, but the Biscuits could muster little else.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 8, Bradenton Marauders (PIT) 0 (7 innings)

A crowd of relatively high-profile prospects for the Rays in this one that they hoped to see succeed, and that was the case as they were the key figures in the Stone Crabs’ thrashing of the Marauders. Enny Romero allowed just 4 hits in 6 shutout innings, although he did strike out just 5 while walking 4 and post a 5-4 groundout to flyout ratio. On offense, the big breakout player was catcher Luke Bailey from the nine-hole, who went 3 for 3 with a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Derek Dietrich went 2 for 4 with a triple, a stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored in a rare speed oriented game for him, and Mikie Mahtook went 2 for 3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.

What a day for offense in this one. Jake Floethe pitched an excellent day to start as his offense staked him to a couple of runs. Floethe, still working his way back from a back injury, went 5 innings allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, on 6 hits, but the good news was that he posted a 5-1 ratio for both strikeouts and walks and groundouts and flyouts. He’s now 7-1 on the season, and hopefully he’ll finally get back to pitching the way we saw he was capable of earlier in the season. Now to the offense. Not pictured is Drew Vettleson, Josh Sale, and Tyler Goeddel, and Goeddel didn’t play and the other two went a combined 0 for 11. Their teammates were more than willing to pick up the slack. Todd Glaesmann went 4 for 4 with a homer, a walk, a stolen base, 4 RBI, and 3 runs scored, Jeff Malm went 3 for 5 with a homer, 5 RBI, and 2 runs scored, and Alejandro Segovia went 2 for 4 with a homer, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Ryan Brett had a huge day on the basepaths, going 4 for 6 with 3 stolen bases, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored, and Jake Hager had a day that doesn’t exactly excite but was very stellar nonetheless as he went 1 for 3 with 3 walks, a stolen base, an RBI, and 4 runs scored.

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Brooklyn Cyclones (NYM) 3, Hudson Valley Renegades 0

In a game I watched from the press box, the Renegades found themselves in quite a pitching duel but could not come out ahead. Luis Mateo started for the Cyclones and tossed 6 shutout innings to lower his ERA on the season to a negligible 0.51 in 3 starts with 22 strikeouts versus just 2 walks in 17.1 IP. But Matthew Spann had himself a nice game as well, allowing 3 runs, 1 earned, in 6 innings, striking out 2 while walking 1. His groundout to flyout ratio was 8-8, but he was able to force a lot of weak contact. His defense was very inconsistent as third baseman Felix Gonzalez made two costly errors while centerfielder Marty Gantt made a trio of sparkling defensive plays. Brandon Henderson allowed just a walk in pitching the final 3 innings for Hudson Valley, striking out 3 while walking none. Tommy Coyle was the only Renegades player with multiple hits as part of a 3 for 4 day. Bizarrely, his hardest-hit ball, a rocket to right-center, was caught on a nice play by the right field Eudy Perez, and one of his hits was a pop-up dropped on the infield that no Cyclone managed to touch. Gantt, Luke Maile, and Michael Williams all went 1 for 4. Tough loss for the Renegades, but scouting notes from this game are coming up later today, and I will also be in the press box for Tuesday’s game at Dutchess Stadium.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Princeton Rays 6, Elizabethton Twins 4

Great all-around game for the P-Rays as they came back from an early 3-0 deficit to win. Kevin James allowed 3 unearned runs in the first inning, but he managed to go 4.2 innings allowing 5 hits and 3 walks without striking out a batter, although posting a 10-4 groundout to flyout ratio. William Gabay tossed 2.1 innings of one-run ball for the win while Alex Keudall allowed just a hit in the final 2 innings for the save. Some of Princeton’s big bats came through nicely in this game. John Alexander had a 2-run home run, Oscar Hernandez went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored (let’s just say that he looks completely for real, managing a .342/.409/.605 line in 10 games this season), Granden Goetzman went 2 for 4 with a double, a stolen base, an RBI, and 2 runs scored, and Brandon Martin went 2 for 4 with a triple and a run scored.