The Undercards: Dylan Floro Dominates in Hot Rods Victory

Dylan Floro has been on a nice run as of late, going 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA, striking out 14 batters over 18.1 innings in his previous three starts entering last night. He continued his recent run of success, handling the Silver Hawks with relative ease. With his trong performances as of late, Floro may end up finding himself promoted to the Stone Crabs if he is able to continue this streak.

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) 6, Durham Bulls 5 (Game One – Seven Innings)

The IronPigs wasted no time in getting their offense going int he first game of the double header. With a runner on second and one out, Cody Asche had an RBI double, and scored on Darin Ruf‘s single. Cody Overbeck then followed with a two run home run, giving the IronPigs a 4-0 lead right out of the gate. However, that outburst seemed to wake up the Bulls offense as they came roaring back in the top of the second, loading the bases with no outs. Brandon Guyer was hit by a pitch to force in a run, and Chris Gimenez followed with a walk to cut the lead to 4-2. With two outs, Mike Fontenot singled, scoring two runs as the Bulls tied the game. Durham took the lead in the next inning, as Vince Belnome doubled to lead off the inning, and scored on Shelley Duncan‘s double. They had the chance to add to the lead, with runners on second and third and one out, but reliever Cesar Jimenez was able to get out of the jam. That inability to score would come back to haunt the Bulls, as the IronPigs tied the game up in the next inning on Ruf’s sacrifice fly. Lehugh took the lead for good one inning later, as Josh Fields doubled, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Bulls had a chance to, at the very least, tie the game back up in the sixth, loading the bases with one out, but Mike MacDougal got Duncan to ground into a double play to end the threat. The IronPigs hung on, handing the Bulls a 6-5 loss in the first game. Steve Geltz took the loss in relief, allowing one run on a hit and a walk in two innings. Belnome was 2-3 with a double, two runs scored and a walk.

Lehigh Valley IronPigs 2, Durham Bulls 1 (Game Two – Seven Innings)

The IronPigs struck first again in the second game, as Ruf hit a run scoring double to give Lehigh a quick 1-0 lead. From that point, the game turned into a pitcher’s duel, as both teams worked through their bullpens to keep the game close. The 1-0 score held up into the bottom of the sixth, when Cesar Hernandez reached on an error, stole second with one out, and moved to third on a throwing error. Hernandez came around to score on a two out double by Overbeck, as the errors would prove to be costly. The Bulls came back in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs. A wild pitch scored Leslie Anderson, who doubled earlier in the inning, to cut the lead to 2-1. However, Tim Beckham, whose error in the sixth led to the run, struck out to end the threat as the Bulls fell in both games. Cory Wade, making the spot start, took the loss, giving up one run on one hit, striking out three in three innings. Fontenot was 2-3 in the loss.

Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers) 5, Montgomery Biscuits 0

In order to score, it helps to get hits, or even baserunners. Unfortunately, for the Biscuits, both were in very short supply against Lookouts starter Ross Stripling. Kevin Kiermaier singled to lead off the game, then Montgomery was held hitless until Hector Guevara doubled with one out in the sixth. Meanwhile, the Lookouts kept putting runs on the board. After scoring a run on a groundout in the first, Miguel Rojas added an RBI double in the second to put the Lookouts ahead 2-0. Chattanooga extended the lead in the fifth, loading the bases with one out for Bobby Coyle. Coyle came through with a two run single, as the Lookouts took a 4-0 lead. They tacked on another run in the sixth, en route to an easy 5-0 victory. Jake Floethe took the loss, giving up four runs, with only two earned, on five hits and four walks in 4.2 innings.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 9, Bradenton Marauders (Pirates) 8 (Game One – Seven Innings)

Charlotte took a quick lead, loading the bases with no outs and pushing a run across on a sacrifice fly by Richie Shaffer, but a double play ended the threat just as quickly. The Marauders put runners on first and third with no outs in the second, tying the game on a wild pitch. Alen Hanson drove in a run with a triple, and scored on a sacrifice fly to put Bradenton ahead 3-1. The Stone Crabs chipped away, tying the game on a run scoring double play in the third, and a solo home run from Alejandro Segovia in the fourth, but Bradenton exploded in the fifth. After the first two batters of the inning reached, Willy Garcia hit a three run home run to give the Marauders the lead once again. An RBI single by Eric Avila and a sacrifice fly gave Bradenton an 8-3 lead. Yet, the Stone Crabs continued to fight, as Shaffer had a two run single to cut the lead to 8-5. That lead held up until the bottom of the seventh, when the Stone Crabs loaded the bases with one out. After a strikeout, Charlotte tapped into some late game magic. Curt Casali singled, plating a run to cut the lead to two. Segovia then drew a walk to force in a run, and Jeff Malm followed with a base hit to tie the game. Up came Lucas Bailey, who drew a walk to force the winning run across the plate as the Stone Crabs came all the way back for the dramatic 9-8 victory. Frank de los Santos earned the win, giving up one hit in his inning of relief. Shaffer was 1-3 with three RBIs. Jake Hager was 3-3 with two runs and a walk in the win.

Bradenton Marauders 3, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2 (Game Two – Thirteen Innings)

You could forgive the Stone Crabs if there was a bit of a hangover in the second game, especially after the dramatic comeback, and it appeared as though there may have been in the first. Hanson made it to second on an error, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on another ground ball. However, they came back in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases with one out. A wild pitch led to a run, and a walk reloaded the bases. However, Segovia grounded into a double play to end the threat. The Stone Crabs took the lead in the third, loading the bases again with two outs. This time, it was Malm who drew the walk, forcing in a run to give Charlotte a 2-1 lead. Starter Roberto Gomez had settled in, and cruised through the Bradenton lineup until the sixth. With two outs, Hanson doubled, and was removed for pinch runner Dan Gamache. Gamache scored on a double by Junior Sosa to tie the game, and the Stone Crabs and Marauders headed into extra innings. The game remained 2-2 until the top of the thirteenth inning, when Chris Lashmet  walked to lead off the frame. Lashmet moved to second on a wild pitch, then took third on a balk before scoring on a sacrifice fly. The Stone Crabs had a chance, putting runners on second and third with two outs, but Hager grounded out to end the game. Andrew Bellatti took the loss, giving up a run on one hit and three walks, striking out four in four innings of relief. Drew Vettleson was 1-4 with two walks in the loss.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 4, South Bend Silver Hawks (Diamondbacks) 2

The Hot Rods broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third, as Patrick Leonard was hit by a pitch with one out, and Brandon Martin followed with a home run to give Bowling Green a 2-0 lead. The Silver Hawks got a run back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI triple by Andrew Velazquez, but the Hot Rods extended the lead again in the sixth. Tyler Goeddel doubled to lead off the inning, and scored on a two out, two run home run by Justin O’Conner. Meanwhile, Dylan Floro was in the midst of what may have been his best start of the season, as he held the Silver Hawks in check after the third. South Bend got a run back on a base hit by Socrates Brito in the eighth, but it was not enough as the Hot Rods held on to the 4-2 victory. Floro picked up the win, giving up one run on three hits and a walk, striking out eight in six innings. Andrew Toles was 2-4 in the win.

Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets) 7, Hudson Valley Renegades 4

Both offenses came out swinging in this game. Brooklyn put runners on second and third to start the game, getting a run on a sacrifice fly. After a hit batsman, Matthew Oberste and Alexander Sanchez followed with consecutive RBI singles to take a 3-0 lead. The Renegades came back with three of their own in the bottom of the inning, as they put runners on first and third with one out. Johnny Field plated a run with a ground rule double, and the Renegades got another run on a groundout. Field scored on a bunt single by James Harris, tying the game. Hudson Valley took the lead in the fourth on a run scoring double by Darryl George, but that would be the end of their offense. Brooklyn tied the game in the fifth, loading the bases with no outs. Colton Plaia followed with a base hit to tie the game, but Kevin Brandt got out of further trouble by striking out the next two batters and inducing a pop up to end the threat. Yet, that would prove to be a brief reprieve, as the Cyclones took the lead the following inning. With runners on first and second and two outs, James Roche drove in a run with an RBI single, and Plaia followed with a two run double to give Brooklyn a 7-4 lead. That score would hold up, as the Renegades were unable to mount any further scoring threats. Brandt took the loss in relief, giving up four runs on seven hits in two innings. George was 2-4 with a double and an RBI.

Elizabethton Twins 8, Princeton Rays 0

Rays starter Jacob Faria and Twins starter Yorman Landa found themselves in quite the pitcher’s duel over the first five innings. Both starters cruised through their opponents lineups, matching one another nearly pitch for pitch, as both pitchers allowed only a single hit and a walk over the first five innings. However, both were done after the fifth, and the game came down to a battle of the bullpens. The Rays bullpen cracked first, as Ryan Walker hit his first home run of the season to give the Twins the lead. The game remained 1-0 until the bottom of the eighth when the Twins exploded for seven runs. Rory Rhodes and Javier Pimentel each had two run doubles as Elizabethton blew the game open. Princeton was held to two hits overall, falling 8-0 to the Twins. Clayton Crum gave up a run on one hit, but struck out three in his inning of work. The Twins hammered reliever Hunter Wood, scoring five runs on four hits and a walk as he recorded one out.

GCL Rays 5, GCL Orioles 2

The Rays took the lead in the third, as Jose Paez hit a one out RBI double to give the Rays a 1-0 lead. Paez came around to score on a sacrifice fly, and a base hit by Alexander Simon drove in another run to give the Rays a 3-0 lead. The Orioles and Rays traded runs in the fourth, and Erick Vasquez drove in another run in the fifth to put the Rays on top 5-1. Meanwhile, starter Jose Alonzo was cruising through the Orioles lineup, keeping their offense in check. The Orioles did muster another run in top of the ninth, but it was not enough as the Rays took the 5-2 victory. Alonzo got the win, allowing one run on two hits, striking out five in five innings. Cristian Toribio was 3-4 with a run scored in the victory.