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.

Durham Bulls 12, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies) 6

The stomach ailment that had affected Wil Myers on Thursday seemed to have passed on Friday night, as he made his presence felt immediately. After the first two batters reached, Myers stepped up and drilled a three run home run to put the Bulls ahead right off the bat. Durham wasted no time extending that lead in the second. After loading the bases with one out, Mike Fontenot singled to center, driving in two as the Bulls went ahead 5-0. The Iron Pigs got two back in the fourth, as three consecutive singles resulted in a run and a wild pitch by starter Jake Odorizzi resulted in the second run. Lehigh Valley cut the lead to one in the top of the sixth, when Jermaine Mitchell led off the inning with a double, and scored on a double by Cody Asche. Asche then scored on a double by Cody Overbeck, as the Iron Pigs cut the score to 5-4. The Bulls came back in the bottom of the frame, as they put runners on second and third with no out. Fontenot singled to drive in a run, and Myers followed up with an RBI groundout. The Iron Pigs once again closed the score in the seventh, as new pitcher Steve Geltz walked the first two batters he faced, then gave up a two run triple to Pete Orr. Geltz amazingly escaped with the lead, as he got a pop out to short, then struck out the next two batters. The Bulls scored twice more in the bottom of the inning, then put the game away with a three run eighth, highlighted by Cole Figueroa‘s two run, bases loaded double. Odorizzi picked up the win, allowing three runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings, striking out two. Guyer was 4-5 with three runs, an RBI and a stolen base. Fontenot and Craig Albernaz each had three hits in the victory.

Mississippi Braves 8, Montgomery Biscuits 2

This game actually started off quite well for Montgomery, as they got a run almost immediately in the first. Kevein Kiermaier tripled to lead off the game, and scored on an infield hit. The Biscuits scored again in the second, with Todd Glaesmann and Kyeong Kang hitting back to back doubles to put Montgomery on top 2-0. However, that was when the Braves came back. After scoring a run in the third, they loaded the bases with no one out int he fourth. A sacrifice fly tied the game, and they had runners on first and second with two out. Dan Brewer singled to put the Braves on top, then Mycal Jones stole home, as Mississippi took a 4-2 lead. Braeden Schlehuber hit a two run home run in the eighth to put the Braves up 6-2, and Mississippi tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth en route to the 8-2 win. Enny Romero took the loss, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks in four innings of work. Robby Price was 3-3 with an RBI and a walk for the Biscuits.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 7, Bradenton Marauders (Pirates) 2

Tied at one heading into the top of the fourth inning, the Stone Crabs were looking for some spark to possibly propel them to a much needed victory. After a leadoff walk, Jeff Malm provided just that, hitting his fourth home run to give the Stone Crabs a 3-1 lead. Bradenton got a run back in the bottom of the inning, as Taylor Lewis hit an RBI triple with two outs to cut the lead to 3-2. Charlotte held on to the lead until the top of the eighth, when they had the bases loaded with two outs. This turned out to be the perfect time for Jake DePew to hit his first double of the year, as he cleared the bases to provide the Stone Crabs with some breathing room. Charlotte tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth, as they ended up with a 7-2 victory. Roberto Gomez earned his first win of the year, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk in six innings of work. Malm was 3-4 with a home run, two runs scored, a walk and three RBIs. Kes Carter and Jake Hager each had two hits in the win.

Bowling Green Hot Rods v. West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) – postponed

The scheduled game between Bowling Green and West Michigan was postponed due to rain after half an inning. The game will be made up later this season at a date to be announced later.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 12, Gwinnett Braves 8

This game was over right in the 1st inning, when the Bulls tallied 10 runs, including 2 home runs by Brandon Guyer. Guyer finished the day 2 for 5 with the 2 homers, 5 RBI, and 3 runs scored as he has been on fire to begin the season, managing a .367/.478/.947 line with 2 doubles, 3 homers, and 8 RBI in 5 games. Wil Myers may be the better prospect, but with Guyer healthy and swinging the bat, he’s more likely to be called up first as the Rays hope to ignite their offense. Speaking of Myers, he had a nice day too, going 2 for 5 with 2 RBI and a run scored. He’s hitting a .333 in 22 plate appearances to begin the year, but he has struck out 7 times versus just 1 walk and he could certainly use more work on his plate discipline. One last big performer for Durham was Cole Figueroa, who went 3 for 4 with a triple, a double, a single, an RBI, and a run scored. He’s hitting .467 on the season and still hasn’t struck out in 17 plate appearances. Then there was the pitching for the Bulls, which actually wasn’t nearly as bad as the 8 runs they allowed. Alex Torres started and was great for Durham, tossing 5 shutout innings allowing just 2 hits and a walk while striking out 3, throwing only 74 pitches. Torres was horrific last season for the Bulls, but he righted himself at the end of the season and in Winter Ball and suddenly he’s looking like a player who will see big league time at some point in 2013. Steve Geitz and Frank De Los Santos did collapse in relief of Torres to allow the 8 runs, but Will Inman and Josh Lueke restored order with 2 shutout innings to end the game. This game was a little annoying given that the Bulls had a 12-0 lead and then began giving it away as the game wore on, but when you score that many runs, the fans will cut you some slack.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 6, Bradenton Marauders (PIT) 2

It was almost the reverse of the Rays-Rangers game in this one as the Stone Crabs got great pitching and didn’t light up the sky on offense but came through big with runners in scoring position. Ryan Carpenter got the start in his season debut and his ERA is still 0.00 after he went 5 innings allowing no runs on 4 hits, striking out 7 while walking none. Carpenter has been a sleeper prospect for the Rays the past few years after a velocity loss his junior year in college dropped him to the 7th round of the 2011 Draft, but he was solid for the Hot Rods in 2012 and now has gotten himself off to a great beginning at High-A. Austin Hubbard allowed a pair of unearned runs in the 6th, but Lenny Linsky had a really encouraging outing over the last 2 innings, allowing just 1 hit while striking out 2, recording 3 of his other 4 outs on the ground. A shoulder injury has derailed Linsky’s career, but if healthy his great sinker-slider combination could get him into the Rays bullpen in a hurry. On the offensive side, Taylor Motter, Alejandro Segovia, and Curt Casali all went 2 for 3 for the Stone Crabs while Hector Guevara went 2 for 4, and while the Stone Crabs managed just 2 extra-base hits, they went 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position, getting four key RBI hits and scoring 2 more runs on errors. Great to see Carpenter looking sharp and the Charlotte offense getting contributions across the board.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 8, Lansing Lugnuts (TOR) 3

We’re still waiting for the Rays to get off to the races on the basepaths and use that to manufacture runs. The Hot Rods already have that covered. The Hot Rods equaled a franchise record with 6 stolen bases, and an even impressive display of their speed was Marty Gantt‘s inside-the-park home run in the 2nd inning. Gantt went 2 for 4 with his homer, 3 RBI, and a run scored in the game continuing his incredible start to the season (.438 average) after a rough go in his pro debut in 2012. Also impressing were Tommy Coyle, who went 3 for 4 with a double, a stolen base, 3 RBI, and a run scored, Tyler Goeddel, who finally had breakout game, going 2 for 4 with a walk, 2 stolen bases, an RBI, and a run scored, and Andrew Toles, who went 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, 2 stolen bases, and a run scored. On the pitching side, Jeff Ames had a great start himself, going 5 innings allowing just 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 3 while walking 1. The Hot Rods are clicking on all cylinders and it’s always fun to see them playing like this.