Durham Bulls 9, Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders (Yankees) 4

Scoreless into the third, the Bulls took the lead in the top of the third. With one out and a runner on second, Brandon Guyer doubled, giving the Bulls a 1-0 lead. Guyer came around to score on a two out double by Wil Myers. In the fourth inning, Durham took control of the game. With runners on first and third, Tim Beckham singled to drive in a run. A hit batter loaded the bases, and Jason Bourgeois walked to force in a run. Two groundouts plated runs, and the Bulls took a 6-0 lead. The RailRiders got two back in the fifth, aided by a two base error by Guyer. However, Durham extended the lead again in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs. Juan Apodaca singled up the middle, plating two as the Bulls took an 8-2 lead. They tacked on another run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly. Even though the RailRiders got two back in the bottom of the ninth, it was not enough as the Bulls held on for the 9-4 victory. Alex Colome got the win, giving up two unearned runs on five hits and two walks. Guyer, Beckham and Apodaca each had two hits in the win.

Montgomery Biscuits 2, Jackson Generals (Mariners) 1

This game did not start off well for Montgomery starter Jacob Thompson, as he gave up a leadoff home run to Leon Landry and walked the next batter. However, from that point, he settled in, and managed to hold the Generals offense in check. The Biscuits would give him all the support he needed in the third, as back to back walks to start the inning put runners on first and second. After a sacrifice bunt, Kevin Kiermaier and Shawn O’Malley had consecutive RBI singles, giving the Biscuits a 2-1 lead. Neither team mounted a serious threat the rest of the way, as the Biscuits took the win in this excellent pitcher’s duel. Thompson got the win, allowing the one run on five hits and two walks in seven innings, striking out four. Robi Estrada was 2-2 with a double, and Cameron Seitzer finished 1-3 with a double and a walk in the victory.

Fort Myers Miracle (Twins) 6, Charlotte Stone Crabs 5

This loss was particularly painful for the Stone Crabs, in more ways than one. After the Miracle took a 2-0 lead, the Stone Crabs tied the game in the top of the third. With one out, Ryan Brett was picked off of first, but reached second due to an error, and scored on a sacrifice fly. Richie Shaffer doubled, then scored on a single from Alejandro Segovia to tie the game. Charlotte took the lead in the fifth. With runners on first and third, Shaffer singled to drive in a run. After a walk loaded the bases, Hector Guevara hit a sacrifice fly to put Charlotte ahead 4-2. However, the Stone Crabs had a scare in the sixth. With one out, starter Parker Markel was hit by a line drive, forcing him to leave the game. Angel Morales followed with a base hit against reliever Christopher Kirsch. An error by Willie Argo led to a run scoring, as the Miracle cut the lead to one. A two out, two run home run from Kennys Vargas gave Fort Myers the lead in the seventh, but the Stone Crabs fought back. Charlotte loaded the bases in with one out in the ninth, and Jake DePew walked to force in the tying run. Then came the bottom of the frame. The Miracle loaded the bases with one out, and Vargas hit a fly ball that Argo lost in the lights, allowing the winning run to score as the Stone Crabs lost 6-5. Eliazer Suero took the loss, giving up a run on two hits and a walk in .1 innings. Markel pitched fairly well before leaving, allowing three runs, one earned, on eight hits and two walks while striking out six in 5.1 innings. Guevara was 3-4 with an RBI in the loss.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 4, Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers) 2 (seven innings)

The Loons struck first, loading the bases with one out in the first against Bowling Green starter Jordan Harrison. Dashenko Ricardo singled to center, driving in two as the Loons took a 2-0 lead. From that point, Harrison settled in, and held Great Lakes in check. The Hot Rods got a run back in the first on a Justin O’Conner RBI single, and tied the game in the second courtesy of a base hit by Leonardo Reginatto. The Hot Rods appeared ready to take the lead, as they loaded the bases with one out. However, Andrew Toles struck out and Thomas Coyle was picked off of first to end the threat. Bowling Green did take the lead in the fourth. With runners on first and second and two outs, Coyle made up for his baserunner gaffe earlier by hitting a double to center to drive in both runners, putting the Hot Rods ahead 4-2. The Loons were unable to mount a threat from that point, as the Hot Rods took the win in this makeup game from the April 17th rainout. Marcus Jensen earned the win in relief, pitching 2.1 shutout innings, allowing only one hit and a walk while striking out three. Harrison only lasted 3.2 innings, but struck out seven Loons hitters. Coyle was 1-2 with a double, two RBIs, and a walk.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 8, Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders (NYY) 5

What the Rays will end up receiving in the James Shields trade is still very much up in the air. Want some optimism? Jake Odorizzi made his MLB debut the other day and Montgomery and Myers showed signs of breaking out in this game. Mike Montgomery had one good rehab start and one bad rehab start for High-A Charlotte but pitched well in his return to Triple-A, going 5 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 2 while walking 2. He threw just 69 pitches, 42 strikes. We definitely want to see Montgomery strike out more batters moving forward, but it was definitely a step in the right direction as Montgomery hopes to finally get himself back on track after struggling mightily the past couple of years. Montgomery’s outing was good, but not so exciting. If you want something to get worked about, look no further than the Bulls offense. Wil Myers finally slammed his 5th homer of the year, a 3-run shot in the 4th inning, and although he went 1 for 5, he didn’t strike out. Myers isn’t playing particularly well right now, but he’s doing a great job putting bat on ball, not striking out a single time in his last four games while walking twice. Great to see Myers defying the propensity for striking out that has derailed him this season, and if he keeps doing that the hot streak we’ve been waiting for could finally arrive. Shelley Duncan also went 2 for 5 with a 2-run homer, Vince Belnome went 1 for 3 with a triple, 2 walks, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, and Brandon Guyer, Cole Figueroa, and Juan Apodaca all had multiple hits. A bullpen collapse made the score in this one a little ugly, but Montgomery looked good and the offense was churning on all cylinders as the Bulls rolled.

Double-A Southern League: Jackson Generals (SEA) 3, Montgomery Biscuits 1

Not fun to get 3-hit. The Biscuits managed a walk, a hit, and a run scored on an error but got basically nothing after that as Anthony Fernandez and the Jackson bullpen was outstanding. Matt Buschmann took the loss as he had an up-and-down outing, doing 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, striking out 9 while walking 4. 62 of his 108 pitches were strikes. He allowed a lot of baserunners, but a Brad Miller 2-run homer was his only real mistake. Andrew Bellatti and C.J. Riefenhauser tossed 4 shutout relief innings to finish this one off for Montgomery, but unfortunately it went for nought. Mikie Mahtook, Cameron Seitzer, and Riccio Torrez had the 3 hits for the Biscuits.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 9, Clearwater Threshers (PHI) 8 (11 innings)

Finishes in games do not get any crazier than this. In the 11th against Kevin Brandt, the Threshers came up with two runs on a 2-out double by Cameron Perkins. But in the bottom of the inning, the Stone Crabs refused to go down. They had 2 outs, a runner on 3rd, and 1 run in when Ryan Brett came up with a game-tying RBI single. Then Brett pulled off a gutsy steal of second base to set up Jake Hager‘s walk-off single as the Stone Crabs won 9-8. Wow. Ryan Carpenter got the start for Charlotte in this one and did not pitch well, going 6.1 innings allowing 6 runs on 9 hits, actually striking out 8 while walking 1 but never really settling in. Jacob Partridge allowed an inherited runner from Carpenter to score but tossed otherwise scoreless ball in his 1.2 innings before Nate Garcia continued his incredible run of late with 4 strikeouts in 2 shutout innings. Now to the offense. Brett went 2 for 6 with a double and of course his stolen base, RBI, and run scored all in the 11th, and he has really made a major impact since returning from his suspension. If he can stay clean, he’s an interesting prospect. Alejandaro Segovia went 3 for 4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored, Willie Argo went 2 for 4 with a double, a stolen base, 2 RBI, and a run scored, and Taylor Motter went 2 for 4 with a walk and 2 RBI. The pitching for the Stone Crabs was not really there for most of this one (although they struck out 14 in the game) but the offense came up huge in the clutch to help Charlotte find its way to a satisfying win.

Low-A Midwest League Game 1: Great Lakes Loons (TOR) 4, Bowling Green Hot Rods 3 (7 innings)

Rain cost the Hot Rods big-time in this one as Blake Snell hadn’t allowed a hit in 2 innings of work before the game was suspended yesterday, taking him out of the game, before resuming today. Brandon Henderson allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in 4 innings of work, although he did strike out 4 while walking 2. Among the highlights in this one for Bowling Green were Ryan Dunn, who went 1 for 3 with a double, a stolen base, and a run scored, and Tommy Coyle, who went 1 for 3 with a walk, two stolen bases, and a run scored.

Game 2: Loons 1, Hot Rods 0 (7 innings)

This second loss was especially tough for Bowling Green because Dylan Floro was about as good as you can possibly be and lose. Floro went 6 innings allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 5 while walking none and managing a 9-2 groundout to flyout ratio. He lowered his ERA on the season to 1.54 as he hasn’t allowed more than 2 earned runs in a start a single time all year. Have to wonder how much longer he’ll stay in Low-A as a polished college arm blowing away these inexperienced hitters. But the run support for Floro simply did not come in this one as he was charged with his first loss of the season. Coyle capped his great day by doing 2 for 3 with a double and a stolen base. Coyle has really been unbelievable this year, managing a .277/.398/.426 line with 7 doubles, 5 triples, 2 homers, 16 RBI, a 22-29 strikeout to walk ratio and 17 of 18 stolen bases. But for the Hot Rods to start winning these games, they’re going to have to push some runs across, and they simply could not do that in this game.

Now back to your regularly scheduled minor league recap.

Triple-A International League: Norfolk Tides (BAL) 4, Durham Bulls 3

The last time Alex Torres made the major leagues before this year, September of 2011, he followed it up with a disastrous performance when he returned to the minor leagues in 2011, completely losing the strike zone on his way to a horrific season. The Rays have to hope that Torres’ latest time in the major leagues and subsequent demotion will have vastly divergent results. With that in mind, Torres’ first inning back at Triple-A Durham had to be the Rays’ worst nightmare. Torres looked exactly like the pitcher who walked nearly a batter per inning last year and not the pitcher who has broken through, throwing just 14 of his 34 pitches in the inning for strikes as he allowed 2 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs. From there, though, Torres was able to recompose himself, throwing 22 of 36 pitches for strikes the next three innings to finish with reasonable numbers. Torres went 4 innings allowing 3 runs on 2 hits, striking out 4 while walking 2. His groundout to flyout ratio was 6-2. Rays fans watching certainly got a scare, but it seems like it was just a temporary thing and Torres will be just fine moving forward. With the Rays’ bullpen still looking as weak as ever, a big league return could soon be in the wings for Torres, but he will have to keep pitching well for that to be a possibility. Speaking of potential big league options, Jeff Beliveau, who was also briefly in the big leagues for the Rays, had a great game himself, going 2 innings allowing just a hit while striking out 3, and Cory Wade tossed a perfect 8th. On the offensive side, Vince Belnome raised his average to .331 on the year, going 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, and 2 RBI, Jason Bourgeois went 2 for 4 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored, and Brandon Guyer had a triple and a run scored. Solid game for the Bulls after Torres’ early frustration, but it was not enough for them to come away with a win.

High-A Florida State League: Clearwater Threshers (PHI) 3, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2

The worst feeling as a pitcher is when you pitch great and yet your team simply cannot get you a win. That line best described Jeremy Hellickson in the Rays organization on Tuesday, but Roberto Gomez actually took the loss for Charlotte despite one of his best outings of the season. Gomez went a season-high 7 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, striking out 1 while walking none, and Lenny Linsky even followed him with a pair of shutout innings in relief so no bullpen collapse was to blame here. The issue was that Charlotte just could not push runs across, going just 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Drew Vettleson plated both Stone Crabs runs in the game despite going 0 for 4, driving in both runs on groundouts. He also had an outfield assist in the game. In terms of the real strong performers on offense and not the curious ones, Jake Hager went 3 for 4 with a double and a stolen base (yet embarrassingly was not part of the scoring), Kes Carter went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 runs scored, and Jeff Malm went 2 for 4 as well. Tough loss for Stone Crabs, and they need to figure out some way to push runs across and take advantage of the strong pitching they get so often.