The Undercards: Pitchers Dominant, Reginatto Stays Hot as Renegades Beat Cyclones

Good pitching makes a lot of problems go away. But you do need some offense as well, as the Rays are very familiar. Luckily that was mostly the case on Tuesday for Rays affiliates.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 8, Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (PHI) 6

The Bulls got great production from the bottom of their lineup and the pitchers were just good enough as Durham hung on to beat Lehigh Valley 8-6. Jim Paduch got the start and was pretty good going 5.2 innings allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, on 6 hits, not striking out or walking a batter and posting a 9-6 groundout to flyout ratio. He was relieved by Cesar Ramos, who posted a 6-0 groundout to flyout ratio but was unimpressive otherwise, going 2.2 innings allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, on 5 hits, once again not striking out or walking a batter. Dane De La Rosa got the final 2 outs for the save, allowing 1 hit and once again recording 0 strikeouts and not walking a single batter. Bulls pitchers had a nice 16-6 groundout to flyout ratio on the day, but it was pretty bizarre that despite using three pitches, they didn’t strike out a single batter or even walk one. But it was fine as they were good enough to win. Jesus Feliciano and Matt Mangini had huge days out of the 9th and 8th spots in the order, both going 3 for 4, and Feliciano had a double and 4 RBI while Mangini had 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Stephen Vogt led off in the game for about the first time in his life and went 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. Sam Fuld went 0 for 4 with a walk in his rehab appearance.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 3, Mobile Baybears (ARI) 2

This game happened before the Rays’ major league game, but it was about as similar as you’ll see. Alex Colome mirrored Matt Moore, having big control problems, but he was able to hold down the fort, going 5.1 innings allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, striking out 4 while walking 5. His groundout to flyout ratio was a little more normal than Moore, coming in at 4-6 to Moore’s 0-11. Neil Schenk and Kirby Yates tossed the final 3.2 innings to keep the game at 3-2, and that would be the final. Ryan Garko and Mayo Acosta each had RBI doubles, and Greg Sexton went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored.

High-A Florida State League: Daytona Cubs 6, Charlotte Stone Crabs 1

Albert Suarez saved the Stone Crabs’ bullpen with 6.2 innings in a game where the Charlotte offense was shut down by the Cubs, and unfortunately it came apart at the end as the Stone Crabs lost 6-1. Suarez allowed 3 runs through 6 innings before coming apart for 3 runs in the 7th. Overall, he went 6.2 innings allowing 6 runs, 4 earned, on 8 hits, striking out 2 while walking 2. His groundout to flyout ratio was 5-6. George Jensen tossed the final 1.1 innings scoreless. The Stone Crabs offense was essentially the Derek Dietrich and Riccio Torrez show, with Dietrich going 3 for 4 with a double, and Torrez going 2 for 4 with the only run scored. Robi Estrada had the Stone Crabs’ only RBI on a sac fly.

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 4, Brooklyn Cyclones (NYM) 1

The Renegades pitching duo of Jesse Hahn and Eduar Quinonez, a couple of pitchers who have struggled all season, was sharp all night as the Renegades rolled to a 4-1 win. Hahn channeled his inner Noodles Hahn, going 4 innings allowing just 1 hit, striking out 1 while walking none, and posting a 10-0 groundout to flyout ratio. Quinonez finished off the game by tossing the final 5 innings in relief allowing just 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 4 while walking 1 and posting a 6-3 groundout to flyout ratio. Nice to see those two get on track. On offense, Luke Maile slammed a solo homer, Leonardo Reginatto continued hitting well with runners in scoring position with a 2-run single, and Ryan Dunn went 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Bluefield Blue Jays 5,  Princeton Rays 4

The P-Rays came back from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game at 4, but the Blue Jays got a run in the bottom of the 8th to win 5-4. Kevin James had an unusually short start, throwing just an inning allowing just a hit while striking out 2. Hugo Duarte relieved him and wasn’t nearly as good, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits in 4 innings, striking out 2 while walking 1. The P-Rays finally got a run on a James Harris groundout in Duarte’s final inning before getting 2 more in the 6th on an Ariel Soriano RBI single and an Oscar Hernandez sac fly. They tied it in the 8th on a Reid Redman triple followed by a wild pitch. But an error on an Art Charles single against Alex Keudell brought home the go-ahead run in the 8th for Bluefield as they won 5-4. Redman went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple, a walk, and 2 runs scored, Alvin Toles went 2 for 4 with a double, and Daryl George went 2 for 4 as well.

Rookie Gulf Coast League: GCL Red Sox 4, GCL Rays 3 (10 innings)

The GCL Rays bullpen let a 3-0 lead slip away as they lost in 10 innings. Jorge Rodriguez had a nice start for the Rays, going 4 shutout innings allowing 5 hits and no walks while striking out 4. His groundout to flyout ratio was just 1-7. Kyle Pelchy allowed the Red Sox to tie it in 2.2 innings of work before an unearned run gave the Red Sox the lead in the 10th, and that would be the difference. Spencer Edwards slammed his first professional home run, a solo shot, for the GCL Rays, and Cesar Perez had a 2-run double.