Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 5, Louisville Bats (CIN) 4

If only this game had occurred the same night as the Elliot Johnson walk-off game. The Bulls jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 2nd off of ex-Reds (and others) starter Brett Tomko when Kyle Hudson doubled in Shawn O’Malley, but Louisville tied it up the following inning on a Kristopher Negron triple and Chris Valaika groundout. That would be the only run surrendered by Lance Pendleton, who went 4 innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits, although he posted just a 1-1 strikeout to walk ratio and 3-4 groundout to flyout ratio. The Bulls retook the lead in the 5th against Tomko on a Stephen Vogt single and Leslie Anderson RBI double. Tomko went 5 innings, allowing just 2 runs despite 7 hits and 5 walks, striking out 4. The Bulls faltered with men on base against him, stranding 8 runners, 5 in scoring position. The Bats made Durham pay in the 6th when Daniel Dorn slammed a solo homer off of Jhonny Nunez to tie the game at 2 and allowed a double before lefty John Gaub came in to escape the jam. Gaub struck out 2, forced a groundout, and surrendered just 1 hit in 1.1 shutout innings. Josh Lueke would pitch the 8th for the Bulls, but he allowed a Denis Phipps double and Mike Constanzo single to put the Bulls behind 3-2 entering the bottom of the 8th. But the Bulls had a rally in store against Louisville closer Josh Judy.

Feliciano was sweet-swinging and nothing but clutch for the Bulls on Tuesday night. (Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE)

Bats reliever Jordan Smith exited with 2 outs in the 8th after allowing a Kyle Hudson single and gave way to Judy. Hudson immediately rattled Judy by stealing second base to move the tying run into scoring position. Reid Brignac subsequently walked, bringing Jesus Feliciano to the plate for a big 2-out at-bat. And Feliciano delivered, slamming a 2-run double to give the Bulls the lead. Cesar Ramos came in for the 9th for Durham and got a 4-6-3 double play to pull within one out of clinching the ball game. But Negron drilled a game-tying home run, and after the Bulls stranded a runner in the 9th, the game went to extra-innings. Ramos pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 10th. In the bottom of the inning, Shawn O’Malley led off with a single before Hudson bunted him to 2nd. A Brignac groundball advanced him to 3rd with Feliciano coming up to the plate in another big spot. And once again, Feliciano came through, grounding a walk-off single as the Bulls won 5-4. Ramos (2-0) got a somewhat undeserved win while Judy (1-1) took the loss. A bunch of Bulls player had big offensive days starting with Feliciano, who went 3 for 5 with a double, a walk, and 3 huge RBI. Shawn O’Malley went 3 for 4 with a walk and the winning run and Kyle Hudson went 2 for 4 with a a double, an RBI, a run scored, and 2 stolen bases. And then there was Reid Brignac. Brignac went 0 for 2 in the game, lowering his batting average at Durham to just .111. But for the first time in his professional career, Brignac drew 3 walks in a game and actually set his personal record again with his 4th base-on-balls, scoring a run as well. Hopefully those walks are indicative of a real breakthrough for Brignac and he’s finally beginning to figure something out. The Bulls record improved to just 8-18 on the season. Hopefully this win will help get them going.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 6, Tennessee Smokies (CHC) 5

The Biscuits faced an uphill battle from the onset on Tuesday night. But they battled back and came away with a win. The Smokies rallied for three runs against Biscuits starter Matt Buschmann in the first inning, starting the game with a James Adduci single, a Logan Watkins 2-run blast, and a Jae-Hoon Ha double. Ha would later score on a Michael Burgress groundout to give the Smokies a 3-0 lead after 1. The Biscuits got one run back in the 2nd on a Mark Thomas RBI single, but Adduci threw out Thomas trying to score on Hak-Ju Lee‘s single to keep it a 3-1 game. Luckily for the Biscuits, Buschmann settled down after the rough first, tossing 3 shutout innings. All in all, Buschmann went 4 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, striking out 4 while walking 3. Impressively, he forced a 6-1 groundball to flyball ratio. Buschmann pitched well to end his outing and maybe he’s starting to find something.

The Smokies restored their 3-run lead on an RBI single by Michael Brenly off of Frank De Los Santos in the 6th. But the Biscuits finally got something going in the 7th, getting back-to-back triples by Brad Coon and Lee and a Tyler Bortnick groundout to pull within 4-3. And there was more to come in the 8th. Michael Sheridan singled to begin the 8th ahead of a Kyeong Kang 2-run blast after a tough 10-pitch at-bat to give the Biscuits their first lead. With 1 out, Coon singled, stole second before Lee struck out, and then stole third with Tyler Bortnick at the plate. Bortnick singled Coon in, providing Montgomery with a huge insurance run as Michael Burgess led off the 8th with a homer off of Marquis Fleming. But Adam Liberatore entered the game for a 1.2 inning save as the Biscuits held on to win 6-5, improving their record to 11-15. Hak-Ju Lee just continues to hit and went 2 for 5 with a single, a triple, an RBI, and a run scored on Tuesday night, and four other Biscuits had multi-hit games: Henry Wrigley (2 for 3, 2 walks, 3 stolen bases- his first 3 of the year), Brad Coon (2 for 3, walk, 2 stolen bases, 2 runs scored), Omar Luna (2 for 5, stolen base), and Mark Thomas (2 for 4, RBI). Kang went 1 for 5 with his 2-run homer while Bortnick went 1 for 4 with a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI. It was a nice come-from-behind win for the Biscuits as they proved the clique right again that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 4, Bradenton Marauders (PIT) 1

While the two games above mirrored (in some respects) Monday night’s Rays-Mariners extra-inning thriller, this one in Bradenton paralleled Tuesday’s game. Braulio Lara and the Stone Crabs fell behind 1-0 on a fluky play in the 2nd as Alex Dickerson scored as Mel Rojas got caught in a rundown. But Charlotte tied the game in the 3rd, with Cody Rogers singling, stealing a base, and scoring on Ty Morrison‘s single, and then the Stone Crabs grabbed the lead in the 4th as Derek Dietrich finally slammed his first homer of the season after 22 in 2011 to give Charlotte a 2-1 lead.  Robby Price later doubled in two runs in the 6th to extend that lead to 4-1. Lara was great, going 6 innings and allowing just 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 4 while walking 1. 6 of his 10 in-play outs were on the ground. Eliazer Suero worked around 4 hits to pitch 2 scoreless innings of relief, and Chris Rearick struck out 2 for a shutout 9th and the save as the Stone Crabs won 4-1. Price went 2 for 3 with the double and 2 RBI for Charlotte while Rogers went 2 for 4 with a double, a stolen base, and a run scored. Dietrich and Morrison made their hits count as Dietrich went 1 for 4 with his homer and Morrison went 1 for 4 with an RBI single and a stolen base. The Stone Crabs moved within one game of .500 at 12-13 with this win, and if they can get pitching like this and hopefully a little more hitting, they have the ability to use reaching .500 as a spring for something more.

Triple-A International League: Norfolk Tides (BAL) 8, Durham Bulls 5

The Durham Bulls’ losing streak has reached 9 games and they have lost 12 of their last 13 after falling 8-5 to the Orioles-affiliated Norfolk Tides on Tuesday night. The Bulls had their moments, but they just could not put it all together.

Alex Cobb, usually dependable for the Bulls, struggled with command and had a terrible night, going just 4 innings and allowing 6 runs on 8 hits, striking out 6 while walking 4. The Bulls offense could not overcome that. Will Rhymes gave his best effort for Durham, going 3 for 5 with just a double short of the cycle, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, and Kyle Hudson went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored. Reid Brignac and Brandon Guyer each went 1 for 5 with an RBI single while Stephen Vogt‘s 2 for 3 day in the second game of a doubleheader on Monday proved to be just a temporary break from his slump as he went 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts. The Bulls had a solid offensive day, but Cobb’s disaster outing was just too much. The Bulls were the only Rays affiliate to lose Tuesday and no matter what you want to say about winning in the minors, the Bulls have to turn this around.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 6, Palm Beach Cardinals 4

While David Price was no-hitting the Los Angeles Angels to begin the Rays’ game on Tuesday, Albert Suarez did the same versus the minor league affiliate of Albert Pujols‘ former team, the Cardinals. Suarez was perfect through 3 innings before allowing a 4th inning walk, and then Suarez managed to allow a 5th inning run without a hit through a walk, stolen base, wild pitch, and an error. Suarez exited after allowing a hit in the 6th. Suarez went 6 innings, allowing 1 run, unearned, on  1 hit, striking out 3 while walking 2. He forced 9 groundouts compared to 7 flyouts. Suarez was all over the place on the day, but hitters could not make good contact against him.

The Stone Crabs took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd on a Phil Wunderlich double and Riccio Torrez RBI single before the Cardinals tied the game in the crazy 5th inning. Thanks to a walk, two singles, a sac fly, and a key error, the Stone Crabs grabbed a 3-1 lead in the 7th. But a Jonathan Rodriguez double off of Charlotte reliever Victor Mateo and a subsequent Luis De La Cruz RBI single gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game and put the Stone Crabs in danger of losing despite Suarez’s outstanding outing. But the Stone Crabs came up with a 9th inning rally as Robby Price hit an RBI triple, Mikie Mahtook hit a sac fly, and Torrez hit another RBI single to take a 6-4 lead, and Jim Patterson closed out his own win as that was the final. Torrez went 3 for 5 with his 2 key RBI for the Stone Crabs while Mahtook went 2 for 3 with his sac fly and Price went 2 for 4 with his pivotal RBI triple, an RBI, and a run scored. Even when things got a little out of hand, the Stone Crabs battled back, and their reward is a .500 record on the season at 9-9. Suarez had a night to remember and the Charlotte offense came through as the Stone Crabs gave the Rays organization a 4-1 day counting the big league team and not just one potential no-hitter to talk about, but two.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 4, Gwinnett Braves 3 (12 innings)

It wasn’t enough for the Bulls to start their season with an ordinary win- they had to start off with a bang. Their opener ended up as a classic. RBI singles by Matt Mangini and Chris Gimenez gave the Bulls an early lead. Alex Cobb was the Bulls’ Opening Day starter and while he was hit around a little bit, allowing 6 hits in 5 innings, but he held the G-Braves to 1-run thanks to great swing-and-miss stuff, striking out 8. Cobb was replaced by the rehabbing Brandon Gomes, who struck out 2 and walked 1 in a scoreless inning. But after striking out the side in the 7th, Romulo Sanchez blew the lead in the 8th, allowing an RBI double to Stefan Gartfell, and the game ended up going to extra-innings. Neither team could score as both teams’ relievers dominated, but in the 12th, the G-Braves finally got something. Catcher J.C. Boscan led off the 12th versus Cesar Ramos with a solo home run to give the G-Braves a 3-2 lead. But Ryan Reid was able to escape a jam to get out of the inning without any more damage, giving the Bulls one last chance in the bottom of the 12th. They made it  count. Chris Gimenez singled to begin the inning before in typical Rays fashion, Kyle Hudson bunted him over to second base. Will Rhymes followed with a single, but it was hit too hard for the catcher Gimenez to score. That brought Tim Beckham to the plate. Beckham could not manage the flashy game tying hit, but he got the job done, hitting a soft grounder where the only play was at first to tie the game at 3, and after Brandon Guyer walked, Shawn O’Malley hit a groundball to short that turned into an E6, and won the game for the Bulls in a walk-off. A bunch of players we should see by the end of 2012 for the Rays had good games. Chris Gimenez went 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored, Matt Mangini went 2 for 4 with an RBI, Will Rhymes went 2 for 6 and scored twice, and Hudson went 2 for 3 as well. Tim Beckham went 1 for 6 with a stolen base and an RBI, but the interesting player tonight was Brandon Guyer. Guyer started the night 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts, and I noted previously that his timing was way off in spring training, but he worked tough walks in his final two plate appearances of the night, and hopefully those will get him going. It’s always nice to start with a win, and it’s great to see some of the players we know the Rays will need at some point playing well.

Double-A Southern League: Pensacola Blue Wahoos (CLE) 3, Montgomery Biscuits 1

A great starting performance was wasted as the Montgomery Biscuits were unable to begin their season with a win. The Biscuits got great pitching from Shane Dyer, who tossed 5 innings of 2-hit ball with 3 strikeouts versus 1 walk. He allowed an unearned run after Hak-Ju Lee felt the jitters to begin the game, leading to a throwing error and subsequent sac fly. On the hitting side, Hak-Ju Lee went 1 for 4 with an RBI in his season debut, but the game’s hitting star was Cole Figueroa, who went 3 for 4 with a double for the Biscuits, but was stranded on base every time. Isaias Velasquez went 1 for 3 with the lone run scored for Montgomery. The game was tied 1-1 until the 8th inning, when Frank De Los Santos collapsed after two shutout innings to allow a 2-run homer to Henry Rodriguez. Pedro Villareal didn’t earn the win for Pensacola, but he matched Dyer’s performance with 5.2 one-run innings, striking out 7 while walking 1. Hopefully the Biscuits’ offense can get on track, and we’ll see Lee show his promise the rest of the season.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 8, Fort Myers Miracle (MIN) 6

The Stone Crabs were faced with a difficult task on Opening Night, facing a rehabbing big leaguer, Scott Baker. But they more than lived up to the challenge. Baker had trouble getting his work in as the Stone Crabs slammed him for 2 runs in a third of an inning. The Rays had trouble on their side as well, as 2011 supplemental rounder Grayson Garvin struggled to the tune of 3 runs allowed (2 ER) in just 3 innings, striking out 3 but walking 4. But the Stone Crabs were able to compensate for their pitching woes with outstanding offense. Mikie Mahtook had a big day in his official professional debut, going 2 for 2 with a double, 2 RBI, a stolen base, a run scored, and 2 walks. However, Mahtook was far from alone. Five others Stone Crabs had multi-hit days: Phil Wunderlich (3 for 5, double, 2 RBI), Derek Dietrich (2 for 5, double, 3 RBI, 2 runs), Hector Guevara (2 for 5, double, stolen base, 2 runs), Kevin Kiermaier (2 for 3, double, stolen base, 2 runs), and Cody Rogers (2 for 3, RBI). That led to an 8-run explosion, enough to survive a bullpen implosion in the late innings to hold on to win 8-6. We’ll have to see about the Stone Crabs’ pitching staff, but they have a high-powered offense and will be an exciting team to watch in 2012.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 3, South Bend Silver Hawks (ARI) 0

On Thursday in Bowling Green, Kentucky there was a star-studded matchup between the Rays’ and Diamondbacks’ Low-A affiliates. There were four players in the game who were drafted in the first round or supplemental first round of the 2011 MLB Draft: RHP Archie Bradley, the 6th overall pick by the D-backs, and three supplemental picks on the Rays’ side: SS Jake Hager, 3B Tyler Goeddel, and OF Kes Carter. Three of the four would play huge roles in the game. Bradley found himself in a pitchers’ duel with the Rays’ 6th round pick in 2011, Jake Floethe, and this time, Floethe was victorious. Floethe tossed 5 three-hit innings, striking out 6 without walking a batter, while Bradley struck out 7 versus 1 walk in his 5 innings, but allowing a run on 4 hits. On offense, the Hot Rods were led by a big day by Hager in his full-season debut, as he went 3 for 3 with a double and a run scored, and Goddel also singled in 3 trips in his pro debut. The run producer was Carter, who went 1 for 4 with a 2-run double. Drew Vettleson also went 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base for Bowling Green. It was a big win for the Hot Rods, and it will be fun to follow all the Rays’ 2011 draftees, along with top prospects like Vettleson and Ryan Brett (who went 0 for 4 in the game), as the Hot Rods look for their second consecutive postseason appearance.

3-1 is a nice start to the year, and we see a lot of the Rays’ top prospects are getting down to business. 2012 looks to be a great year for the Rays’ minor league teams along with the big league squad, and there wil definitely be more glowing reports on the prospects to come.