Triple-A International League: Syracuse Chiefs (WSN) 5, Durham Bulls 0

Yunesky Maya entered Monday with just a 7.45 ERA in 5 starts for Syracuse. But that was no matter in this one as Maya dominated the Bulls, going 7.2 innings allowing no runs on just 6 hits, striking out 9 while walking 1. His ERA stands at just 5.89 right now, but he certainly made a big dent in it with his shutout performance. Jim Paduch allowed 5 runs, 3 earned, on 5 hits in 5 innings in a spot-start to take the loss for Durham. The Bulls relief corps, in sharp contrast to the Rays, was dominant in this one, with Steve Geltz and Adam Liberatore each striking out 3 in 2 innings of work, with the only baserunner being a single of Liberatore. Since allowing 3 runs in his second appearance of the season, Geltz has a 1.32 ERA and a 20-1 strikeout to walk ratio in his last 7 appearances across 13.2 innings pitched. The lefty Liberatore, meanwhile, only has an 11-4 strikeout to walk ratio in 11.2 IP, but he has allowed runs in just two of his nine appearances on the year. Leslie Anderson went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk, Wil Myers went 1 for 4 with a stolen base, and Shelley Duncan went 0 for 4 in his first Triple-A game of the season in the loss for the Bulls.

High-A Florida State League: Brevard County Manatees (MIL) 4, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2

Ryan Carpenter survived a rocky start to his outing to survive and the Stone Crabs got good bullpen work, but the offense was silent and it all went for nought. Carpenter went 5 innings allowing 4 runs on 5 hits, striking out 4 while walking 2. He retired 8 of the last 9 he faced to end his outing. Nate Garcia followed with 2 innings with a pair of strikeouts and Lenny Linsky tossed a scoreless 9th, but the Stone Crabs offense was able to muster only two 3rd inning runs. Jake Hager went 2 for 4 with a double and Richie Shaffer and Hector Guevara both went 1 for 3 with an RBI as the Stone Crabs lost their 11th straight.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 4, Clinton LumberKings (SEA) 2

Jeff Ames was great and the Hot Rods got not only 2 first-inning runs but also two key insurance runs in the 5th and 6th on their way to a 4-2 win. Ames went 6 innings allowing just 3 hits and a walk while striking out 4 in 6 shutout frames. His ERA stands at just 1.45 to go along with a 26-3 strikeout to walk ratio in 6 starts and 31 IP as he has been excellent all season. No win in the Rays organization is complete without a bullpen collapse these days, and sure enough Ryan Garton allowed a 2-run homer to Jordy Lara in the 9th, but in this one, the Hot Rods got a sac fly by Justin O’Conner in the 5th and an RBI single by Ryan Dunn in the 6th to negate the importance of that and nail down their win. The Rods offense had a nice effort with contributions across the board. Andrew Toles went 2 for 3 with a triple, a double, an RBI, and a run scored, Dunn, Leonardo Reginatto, and Marty Gantt all went 2 for 4, and Justin O’Conner having an encouraging game as he went 1 f0r 3 with 2 big RBI. The Hot Rods’ record now stands at 20-10 as they have combined great starting pitching with solid offense on their way to an outstanding season so far.

The most notable players who were sent down were four top pitching prospects from their 40-man roster: lefty Mike Montgomery, who was acquired in the James Shields trade, fellow lefties Enny Romero and Felipe Rivero, and right-hander Alex Colome, who may be the closest of the four to the major leagues although he could also end up in a relief role. Despite pitching last season at High-A, Romero might have been the most surprising cut as he went 5 shutout innings across 3 appearances, allowing just 3 hits and striking out 4 while walking just 2. Romero and all of these pitchers may be gone for now, but rest assured they will be back.

The other pitchers that were sent down were four relievers: right-handers Matt Buschmann and Marquis Fleming and lefties Frank De Los Santos and Adam Liberatore. De Los Santos is the only one on the 40-man roster, but it was his fellow lefty Liberatore who pitched the best, managing a 2.70 ERA and a 5-2 strikeout to walk ratio in 3.2 innings pitched. All four pitchers will head to Triple-A Durham and will hope to continue proving themselves as they try to crack the Rays’ bullpen by the end of the season.

Aside from the eight pitchers, three position players were sent down: catcher Mark Thomas, first baseman Nick Weglarz, and infielder Shawn O’Malley. O’Malley actually played really well, going 4 for 12 with 6 runs scored and 2 stolen bases, and Thomas hit a big home run, and all three will hope to play well at Triple-A to make their way onto the Rays roster. Thomas is the one of the three with the most promise, being an excellent defensive catcher with flashes of power, and if he can hit and a more consistent basis, he could be the Rays’ catcher of the future.

In terms of the players who are still in Rays camp, here’s the Rays lineup for Tuesday.

Desmond Jennings, CF
Mike Fontenot, 2B
Kelly Johnson, 1B
Leslie Anderson, DH
Ryan Roberts, 3B
Sean Rodriguez, LF
Wil Myers, RF
Chris Gimenez, C
Hak-Ju Lee, SS
—
Alex Cobb, SP

The thing that jumps out most about this lineup is the fact that Johnson is playing first base, a position he has never played as a professional. After playing only second base the past six years, Johnson is really working on his versatility with the Rays, working to be comfortable at several positions. Sean Rodriguez is also getting set for a utility role, seeing time in the outfield once again, while the Rays’ second baseman isn’t a single member of their “quadtoon” (three of whom are playing different positions in this game) but Mike Fontenot, who has impressed early on in camp. The coolest part of this lineup, though, probably has to be top prospect Wil Myers and Hak-Ju Lee in the lineup hoping to prove themselves alongside big leaguers. Myers hasn’t lit up the world like he needed to in order to make the Rays and Lee has gone just 3 for 14 (.214) although he has stolen 3 bases, but hopefully they can impress in this game and make things interesting as the number of players in each teams’ camps get smaller and the quality competition gradually begins to increase.

Triple-A International League: Charlotte Knights (CHW) 2, Durham Bulls 1

When the offense doesn’t come, great pitching can be negated by one mistake. The Bulls got great pitching by Chris Archer, who went 6 innings allowing just 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1 and posting an 8-1 groundout to flyout ratio. Archer now has a 1.75 ERA to go along with a 2.79 FIP in his last 10 starts, and as we discussed yesterday, Archer could be a player to watch for the Rays down the stretch. But Archer left trailing 1-0 as Andre Rienzo had kept the Bulls offense quiet. Finally the Bulls got something across against Rienzo in the 7th. Leslie Anderson singled to begin the inning, and two batters later, Henry Wrigley singled with Anderson stopping at 2nd base. But Anderson moved to 3rd on a Trayce Thompson error on the play and scored on a Jesus Feliciano sac fly to tie the game at 1. Lefty Adam Liberatore followed Archer with 3 1-hit innings, striking out 5 while walking none, but the Charlotte bullpen kept the game tied 1-1 as the game went into extra innings. Liberatore has been especially dominant of late, not allowing a run in his last 4 appearances spanning 7.2 IP while striking out 13 and walking just 1. But a pitcher on the opposite edge of the spectrum, struggling right-hander Josh Lueke, faltered in the 10th, allowing a Seth Loman single, a wild pitch, and a walk-off single by Brandon Short as the Knights won 2-1. Lueke has just a 15.12 ERA in his last 7 appearances across 8.2 IP, albeit while striking out 9 and walking just 2. He has 5 losses on the season, 3 of them during that stretch.Lueke has been hit hard and has had terrible luck of late, but he has a good arm and hopefully he can get back on track soon. Robby Price, up from High-A as a replacement for the promoted Reid Brignac, went 2 for 3 in his first Triple-A game, while Anderson went 2 for 5 with the only Bulls run.

Double-A Southern League: Huntsville Starts (MIL) 8, Montgomery Biscuits 2

Little went right for the Biscuits in this one as they got clobbered. Jake Thompson started and was hit hard, lasting just 4.2 innings allowing 4 runs on 8 hits, striking out just 1 while walking 3. His groundout to flyout ratio was a surprising 9-2, but Thompson was horrible yet again, allowing back-to-back homers to Hunter Morris, a 3-run shot, and Brock Kjeldgaard in the 5th. Thompson is 1-7 with a 6.94 ERA and a 5.10 FIP in his last 10 starts as his ERA on the season has ballooned to 5.56. C.J. Riefenhauser and Scott Shuman actually tossed shutout ball for the next 2.1 innings before Shane Dyer fell apart in the 8th, allowing 4 more runs. Matt Nevarez, who has been nothing short of gold since signing with the Rays as a minor league free agent in late July, was dominant yet again in his 2012 Double-A debut, striking out 2 in a perfect inning. Omar Luna went 2 for 5 with both Biscuits RBIs, Shawn O’Malley went 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, and a run scored, and Greg Sexton also went 2 for 4.

High-A Florida State League: Fort Myers Miracle (MIN) 6, Charlotte Stone Crabs 3

Take away a 3-run 5th inning, and the Stone Crabs would have gotten 1-hit in this game. The pitching wasn’t nearly good enough for the Stone Crabs to sneak away with an improbable win. George Jensen started and saw a recent run of success come to a screeching halt as the went 3.1 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, striking out 1 while walking none. Theron Geith tossed hitless ball over the next 3.2 innings, allowing an unearned run, before Lenny Linsky continued his ineffectiveness by allowing 2 runs in the 9th. Cody Rogers had a 2-run triple and Hector Guevara had an RBI single for the 3 Stone Crabs runs.

Why can't O'Conner have nights a like this a little more often? (Credit: Flickr user Minors Fan Photos)

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 12, Aberdeen Ironbirds (BAL) 9

Pitchers, stay far away. The Renegades tagged Aberdeen starter Lex Rutledge for 5 runs in just 1 inning, with Luke Maile drilling a grand slam. The Renegades made it a 6-0 game in the 3rd when Richie Shaffer tripled and scored on a Justin O’Conner double, but then Jeff Ames wilted in the bottom of the inning, allowing 3 runs including a Creede Simpson 2-run homer. But O’Conner drilled a 2-run double as the Renegades made it a 9-3 game in the 5th. Ames was not that bad, going 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 3 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1. Maile singled in Shaffer to make it a 10-3 game after 5 and a half. But how quickly things can change. Ian Kendall entered the game for the Renegades in the 6th and was even worse than Rutledge. He allowed 6 runs in just an inning of work, with runs scoring on a sac fly, a bases-loaded walk, a Will Howard RBI single, a wild pitch, and finally a 2-run triple by Simpson, and suddenly it was a 10-9 game. But Kris Carlson and Jose Alberto Molina tossed 3 scoreless frames to end the game and O’Conner provided some breathing room with a 2-run single in the 8th as the Renegades won 12-9. O’Conner had a career day, going 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI, Maile went 2 for 4 with a homer, 5 RBI, and 2 runs scored, Richie Shaffer went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple, a walk, an RBI, and 4 runs scored, and Ryan Dunn went 3 for 4 with a walk and 2 runs scored.