Double-A Southern League: Huntsville Stars (MIL) 3, Montgomery Biscuits 0

After flashing dominance in major league spring training, Enny Romero‘s regular season experience in Double-A has not been nearly as good. In his last four starts entering Monday, he walked more batters than he struck out each time. Against the Stars, though, Romero finally made some needed progress. Romero went 6 innings allowing no runs on 4 hits, striking out 6 while walking 3 and managing a 6-2 groundout to flyout ratio. Romero continues to impress with his electric mid-90′s fastball, sharp curveball, and even a changeup that shows promise, but he has to find a way to throw more strikes and hopefully this is the start of that. Unfortunately in this game, the bullpen could not keep up Romero’s strong performance with Marquis Fleming and Matt Nevarez allowing 3 runs in the 8th, and the offense got nothing at all, managing just 5 hits as Andy Moye tossed shutout ball over the first 8 innings for Huntsville. Shawn O’Malley did go 2 for 3 with a triple for the Biscuits in the loss.

Low-A Midwest League: West Michigan Whitecaps (DET) 7, Bowling Green Hot Rods 6 (11 innings)

This one was crazy, going back and forth time after time, but it finished in about the worst possible way for the Hot Rods as they blew a 1-run lead in the 9th before falling in walk-off fashion in the 11th inning. Joey Rickard left off the game for the Hot Rods with a home run, but West Michigan got a 2-run homer by Lance Durham in the 4th to give them a 2-1 lead. The Hot Rods were able to take a 4-2 lead in the 6th on a pair of huge errors and a Leonardo Reginatto sac fly, but Ames faltered in the bottom of the inning, allowing a Jeff Holm RBI single and another 2-run homer to Durham to make it 5-4 Whitecaps. Ames had his worst start of the year, going 5.1 innings allowing 5 runs on 10 hits, striking out 3 while walking none. His command was off and he allowed a ton of flyballs, and Durham especially made him pay. However, Ames has been so good this year that his ERA still stands at just 2.13. After solid relief work from Nick Sawyer and Matt Ramsey, the score was still 5-4 West Michigan after 7 innings, and the Hot Rods found a way to change that, with another error setting up a game-tying RBI single by Patrick Leonard. Then in the 9th, Andrew Toles delivered a go-ahead RBI triple to make it 6-5 Bowling Green. But a huge error by Tyler Goeddel allowed the tying run to cross against Jordan Harrison in the 9th and then Durham was up to his tricks one more time in the 11th, drilling a walk-off double to send the Whitecaps to a 7-6 win. Durham went 3 for 6 with the two homers, the double, and 5 RBI as he was the one player the Hot Rods just could not get out. Andrew Toles did go 2 for 6 with his triple, an RBI, and a run scored, Joey Rickard went 1 for 3 with the leadoff homer, 3 walks, and 2 runs scored, and Goeddel and Leonard both had a hit, a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI in the loss for the Hot Rods.

Triple-A International League: Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (PHI) 6, Durham Bulls 4

It was probably inevitable and it definitely could have been far worse, but it was definitely a little scary to see Alex Torres lose control for the first time in way too long in a 6th inning collapse. With the Bulls trailing 2-0 entering the 6th, Torres had a rough inning, hitting a batter, walking a batter, and allowing two line drive hits, and add two errors to the equation and the Ironpigs had extended their lead to 6-0. That’s the type of outing that could happen to anyone–but in Torres’ case, his control breakthrough was so miraculous that we have to be especially overzealous. On the day, Torres went 5.2 innings allowing 6 runs, 4 earned, on 6 hits, striking out 8 while walking 3. For another player, that might be called an “encouraging outing” and it only raised Torres’ ERA to 2.38. He should be fine–certainly not panic time yet. Jeff Beliveau and Kirby Yates gave the Bulls hitless relief the rest of the way, striking out 8 in the last 3.1 innings (although Beliveau walked 3) to give the Bulls 16 strikeouts on the day. Pretty impressive. On the offensive side, Jason Bourgeois made up somewhat for his error to burn Torres by going 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, and a run scored, and Cole Figueroa went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. Speaking of players who have collapsed, Brandon Guyer has really had a rough go for a while now, going 0 for 4 to drop his average to .248 on the year. He’s just 20 for his last 90 (.222). Wil Myers got the day off for Durham.

Double-A Southern League: Birmingham Barons (CHW) 7, Montgomery Biscuits 3

Middle inning collapses are certainly a theme Rays fans have had enough of, but unfortunately that was the case in this inning as well. Jacob Thompson had been pitching well before allowing a walk and 2 singles in the 7th, and then Braulio Lara actually lost the strike zone, walking two and allowing a wild pitch before a Trayce Thompson 2-run single capped the 5-run rally. Thompson’s rough year continues as he went 6.2 innings allowing 4 runs on 7 hits, striking out 3 while walking 2. His ERA stands at just 6.49 as he has had his moments, having a pair of outings where he has allowed just 2 hits in  6 innings, but remains exceedingly inconsistent on the whole. In terms of the offense, Mark Thomas had the breakout game we’ve been waiting for him to have, going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and an RBI. He’s hitting just .141 on the season and a big part of that has been that he has struck out 21 times while walking just 4 times in 85 plate appearances–but all 4 of those walks have come in his last 10 games so hopefully he’s seeing the ball better and starting to turn himself around. Kevin Kiermaier went 3 for 5 with a double, a stolen base, and a run scored for the Biscuits while Greg Sexton went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. While we’re on the topic of players who have come apart, have to mention Cameron Seitzer, who is just 4 for his last 43 (.111) to drop him to just a .244/.355/.344 line on the season. Seitzer’s plate discipline is great as he has managed a 34-22 strikeout to walk ratio, but he just isn’t hitting the ball with any authority, and he has to change that.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 8, Lake County Captains (CLE) 0

Rough day for the Bulls and Biscuits, but at least the Hot Rods will end this minor league recap on quite a positive note. It all starts with Taylor Guerrieri, who put together his finest outing as a pro. Guerrieri went 5 innings allowing just 1 hit, striking out 10 while walking just 2. The 10 strikeouts shattered his previous career high of 7. Amazing outing for Guerrieri, but amazingly he wasn’t really satisfied with himself after the game.

“I struggled in the beginning, with two walks in the first two innings. After that I tried to stay mentally strong and it worked out for me. I’m fine with my outing. The defense played well for me. The offense really hit well for me. It’s hard to lose when you put eight runs on the board.”

Guerrieri sure has lofty standards, and the Rays are going to do everything in their power to make sure he reaches that level someday. In terms of the run support Guerrieri alluded to, Tyler Goeddel broke out of a slump with a big game, going 2 for 3 with a homer, a double, a walk, and 3 RBI. The homer was his first of the year. It has been tough for Goeddel as he has been switching off between third base and shortstop and dealt with some injury problems, but hopefully he’s getting locked in again. Then there was Andrew Toles, whose 2013 season has been something to behold. Toles went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, swiping 3 more bases in the process. He has now stolen 18 already this year, getting caught just once. Wow. Pair that with a .333/.367/.523 line and you have yourself a top prospect, although his plate discipline (21-5 K-BB) is an area where he really has to improve. Marty Gantt also went 2 for 4 with a run scored, but the most encouraging player of all was Patrick Leonard, who went 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. He’s hitting just .155 on the year, but maybe this is the game where the lesser-known piece in the Wil Myers trade starts playing up to his capability. By the way, the Hot Rods tossed a 2-hitter in this game, with the three relievers behind Guerrieri not really impressing, striking out just 1, but only allowing 1 hit. Doesn’t get much better than scoring 8 runs to go along with a 2-hitter, and even more important were the performances of players like Guerrieri, Goeddel, and Leonard.

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

So far in 2012, Jake Odorizzi has been extremely hit-or-miss, looking great in his two good games entering Monday while struggling mightily in the other two. Hopefully Odorizzi can get his season more even-keeled moving forward, but in any event, he was great versus the Chiefs. Odorizzi labored to throw 91 pitches through 5 innings, but his results were excellent as he went 5 innings allowing no runs on 4 hits, striking out 6 while walking none. Odorizzi’s strikeout to walk ratio on the season stands at an unbelievable 36-9 in 27 innings pitched, and while he needs to continue working on keeping the ball down in the zone, he has the ability to be a really good pitcher in the major leagues and soon. Frank De Los Santos and Steve Geltz finished the game for Durham, allowing just 1 hit in their 4 innings while striking out 4. Geltz walked 3 batters across 2 innings in his first appearance of the season and has walked just 2 versus 20 strikeouts in the 20.2 innings since. On the offensive side, Chris Gimenez and Leslie Anderson had big games for the Bulls, with Gimenez going 3 for 5 with a double and 2 runs scored and Anderson going 2 for 4 with 2 doubles, a walk (yay!), and a run scored, but it was Cole Figueroa who came up with a big 2-run double in the 6th to ice the game for Durham. Great to see Odorizzi and the Bulls’ arms going strong, and the lineup gave them a strong effort as well to tie together a strong game.

Double-A Southern League: Birmingham Barons (CHW) 5, Montgomery Biscuits 2

Unfortunate game in this one as Victor Mateo pitched very well before allowing a 6th inning grand slam that made all the difference in the Biscuits’ 5-2 loss. Mateo wound up going 5+ innings allowing 4 runs on 8 hits, striking out 2 while walking 2. Matt Nevarez did look great behind him, tossing two 1-hit innings striking out 2 and forcing 3 groundouts. On the offensive side, the Biscuits just managed 3 hits all game, with Kyeong Kang‘s solo home run in the 2nd inning representing the only extra-base knock. Mikie Mahtook and Robi Estrada has the other 2 hits as Montgomery had themselves an awfully hard time with Stephen McCray and the Barons and hope to get better luck next time around.

High-A Florida State League: Lakeland Flying Tigers 12, Charlotte Stone Crabs 3

Lopsided score in this one, but the Stone Crabs still had several highlights to draw from. Roberto Gomez was terrible, allowing 6 runs on 9 hits in 4 innings, and Jacob Partridge was far worse, allowing 5 runs in just 1 inning of work, but the Stone Crabs held Lakeland to just 4 runs in last 2 innings. Bruedlin Suero tossed 2 shutout innings with a strikeout and Shay Crawford later finished the game with a perfect inning in the 9th, striking out 1. The lefty Crawford has a 1.13 ERA in 8 IP so far in 2013. Then there was the Charlotte bats. This game became much more positive in the 8th inning when Richie Shaffer slammed a 2-run home run. Shaffer went 2 for 4 with his homer in the game, and he’s hitting just .213 on the season but is slowly but surely breaking out of his early-season slump. Brett Nommensen went 3 for 4 with a stolen base for Charlotte while Ryan McChesney, making his season debut, went 1 for 2. McChesney, signed by the Rays as a non-drafted free agent last year, is getting an opportunity with Luke Bailey on the DL, and good luck to him making the most of it.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 4, Peoria Chiefs (STL) 3 (11 innings)

Wins don’t get much better than this for the Hot Rods as they rallied to tie the game in both the 8th and 9th before winning it in the 11th. Taylor Guerrieri got the start for Bowling Green with the training wheels off for the second straight start, and this time he was dominant. Guerrieri went 5 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1 and managing a 9-1 groundout to flyout ratio. Guerrieri finally let up his first homer of the season in his 5th start, but the Chiefs still could not beat him. The final 6 innings of the game were pretty incredible for Bowling Green as four pitchers combined to allow just 1 run, striking out 10 in the process to give the Hot Rods 15 for the game. Reinaldo Lopez struck out the side in the 6th while Marcus Jensen tossed 2 shutout innings with 2 more K’s for the win. In terms of the run support, the Hot Rods finally got on the board in the 5th on a Tommy Coyle RBI double to make it 2-1 game, and in the 8th they finally tied it up, getting a pair of hits before Marty Gantt tied the game with a sac fly. The Chiefs went ahead in the top of the 9th, but the Hot Rods came right back with a gutsy RBI bunt single to send the game into extra innings. And in the 11th, Andrew Toles sealed the deal with a walk-off single as Bowling Green won 4-3. Toles had a huge game, going 3 for 6 with a double, an RBI, and his 11th stolen base of the season already, Coyle also went 3 for 6 with a double and an RBI, Rickard wen 2 for 3 with 3 walks, an RBI, and a run scored, and Leonardo Reginatto went 3 for 5 wtih a double and 2 runs scored. Tyler Goeddel has been out for the Hot Rods with the dreaded hamstring injury, especially devastating because he was on fire when he went down, but the Hot Rods have found a way to keep going and should only be better when he gets back.