Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 16, Gwinnett Braves 8

Reid Brignac has cooled of late. But as the Rays are evaluating their options with the trade deadline approaching, Brignac could not have picked a better night to break out. Lance Pendleton started for Durham and had a disaster outing, but you have to give him credit for remaining in the game so long. He went 5.2 innings allowing 8 runs on 10 hits, striking out 3 while walking 3 as well. Honestly, it was a gritty performance, and it was the difference in the game. Despite such a horrific night, Pendleton earned the win in the game, and it’s hard not to say he deserved it given the circumstances of the game. In sharp contrast, Gwinnett starter Jose Lugo lasted just two-thirds of an inning, allowing 4 runs. Following Pendleton, the Bulls bullpen of Adam Liberatore, Josh Lueke, and Dane De La Rosa tossed the final 3.1 innings scoreless. On offense, several Bulls had huge nights, beginning with Brignac, who went 2 for 5 with a grand slam and a walk. His grand slam made an 8-7 game into a 12-7 game, shifting the momentum back in the Bulls favor as this game wasn’t close by the end. Rich Thompson also went 4 for 6 with a leadoff homer in the game, a double, a stolen base 2 RBI, and 4 runs scored, Henry Wrigley went 2 for 4 with a double, 2 walks, 4 RBI, and a run scored, Leslie Anderson had a 2-run home run, and Tim Beckham went 2 for 5 with a walk, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored. It wasn’t nearly as crisp as the Rays’ blowout win on Wednesday, but the Bulls kept it together and came away victorious.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 4, Jackson Generals (SEA) 3

Kyle Lobstein had another mostly great start that makes you shake your head, Hak-Ju Lee and Ty Morrison continued their steals parade, and Mikie Mahtook was money in his Biscuits starting debut as the Biscuits held on to beat the Generals 4-3. Lobstein went 7 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, striking out 6 while walking 1. But his groundout to flyout ratio was just 4-10! His groundout to airout ratio hasn’t been above 1.00 since June 15th, 8 starts ago, even as he has pitched well! Some guys are simply flyballs pitchers, but this is getting crazy. Lee and Morrison each went 1 for 3 from the top of the lineup and ran down the Generals’ throats. Lee’s hit was a double, and he also walked twice, stole two bases to give him 36 on the year, and scored twice as well. Morrison, meanwhile, walked once, stole his 13th base at Montgomery and 24th on the year, notched 2 RBI, and scored once. And Mahtook, starting in a game for Montgomery for the first time after getting his feet wet with a pinch-hitting appearance on Tuesday, went 2 for 4 from the cleanup spot with 2 doubles.

High-A Florida State League: Ft. Myers Miracle (MIN) 12, Charlotte Stone Crabs 4

Awfully hard to be perfect two nights in a row. Rays affiliates backed the Rays’ encouraging win Tuesday with a perfect 5-0 night, but they had to settle for 5-1 on Wednesday as the Rays blew out the Orioles as the Stone Crabs had a tough night. Enny Romero had no idea where the ball was going and ended up with a scary final line, allowing 8 runs, 7 earned, in just 3 innings, striking out 4 while walking 5. Romero has walked 4 or more batters in 5 consecutive starts. He has electric stuff but has to find some measure of control. The Stone Crabs were down 11-0 before they managed 4 runs in the 8th. Todd Glaesmann slammed a 2-run homer in his Charlotte debut, Luke Bailey also homered, and Derek Dietrich went 3 for 4 with a triple and a run scored.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 15, Lansing Lugnuts (TOR) 13 (13 innings)

Wow. This game was as crazy and as captivating as you’re going to see. The two teams combined for 28 runs on 39 hits with 9 innings not enough to decide the victor and the first score in extra innings not being the winning margin. Ryan Carpenter had an awfully tough night, putting the Hot Rods in an 8-2 hole at one point as he went 4.2 innings allowing 8 runs on 13 hits, striking out 1 and walking 1 as well. But the Hot Rods battled back with 3 in the 5th, 2 in the 6th, and 1 in the 7th to tie it up at 8. Stayton Thomas relieved Carpenter with 2.1 shutout innings with 3 strikeouts and was the only pitcher to not allow a run in the game. An unearned run allowed by Jason McEachern gave the Lugnuts a 9-8 lead heading to the 9th. Then the Hot Rods ralllied for four runs in the top of the 9th to take a 12-8 lead, with Josh Sale delivering a 2-run triple. But Kevin Patterson delivered a game-tying 3-run homer for Lansing in the bottom of the inning off of Austin Hubbard as this game continued. The Hot Rods finally thought they had the game when Juniel Querecuto scored on an error in the 11th, but a Shane Opitz RBI triple off Andrew Bellatti kept the game going. Finally in the top of the 13th inning, the Hot Rods got a 2-run double from Ryan Brett, and Bellatti held the line in the bottom of the frame as the Hot Rods won 15-13. Jake Hager went 2 for 7 with a homer, a walk, a stolen base, 4 RBI, and a run scored, Josh Sale went 1 for 3 with a triple, 3 walks, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored, Querecuto went 4 for 6 with a double, a walk, and 3 runs scored, Brett went 2 for 6 with a double, 2 walks, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, and Alejandro Segovia and Drew Vettleson each had multiple-hit games while Taylor Motter went just 1 for 5 but stole 2 bases and drove in 2 runs.

Gantt and the Renegades somehow managed to pull off an incredible comeback again. (Credit: College of Charleston)

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 10, Tri-City ValleyCats (HOU) 9 (12 innings)

This team just doesn’t give up. Two nights after overcoming an 8-0 deficit to win, the Renegades came up with another huge rally here to win their 7th straight game. Reinaldo Lopez didn’t have nearly the disaster that that some of the other starters we’ve seen in this recap had, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 4 innings, striking out 1 while walking 4. He actually left with the game tied at 3. Ian Kendall was not so fortunate. He allowed 3 runs each in the 5th and 6th innings to put the Renegades up against an 9-3 deficit. But the Renegades didn’t lose confidence. They remained calm, and came right back. It started with Kendall, who tossed 2 shutout innings to finish his outing. And while Kendall provided some pitching stability, the offense finally came alive. Tommy Coyle laced a 2-run double in the 7th to pull the ‘Gades within 9-5. And in the bottom of the 8th, a Deshun Dixon RBI single paired with an error scored 3 runs to pull Hudson Valley within 9-8 before Joey Rickard drilled a game-tying RBI triple. Rob Finneran then matched up against Tri-City’s Blake Ford as they game went into extra innings. Finneran gave the Renegades the best relief appearance of his young career, allowing just a hit in 3 innings spanning from the 9th to the 11th, striking out 2 while walking 1 and posting a 4-0 groundout to flyout ratio. Finneran has struggled through a terrible pro debut, but maybe Wednesday will go down as the turning point for him. After Dylan Floro tossed a perfect 12th with 3 groundouts for the Renegades, they finally sealed the deal on their incredible comeback win. With 2 outs and a runner on 2nd, Marty Gantt came through with a walk-off RBI single as the Renegades won 10-9. Gantt went 3 for 5 with a walk, the clutch RBI, and 2 runs scored, Tommy Coyle went 2 for 5 with a double, a walk, his 10th steal, 2 RBI, and a run scored, Rickard went 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored, and Luke Maile had a 2-run double in the first inning while Ryan Dunn and Leonardo Reginatto both had multiple hits.

Rookie Gulf Coast League: GCL Rays 2, GCL Twins 1

There had to be some pitching somewhere in the Rays organization on Wednesday night. Of course, it came in the pitcher-friendly GCL, where the GCL Rays won their second consecutive game, both by a 2-1 score. Luis Cabrera, a 21 year old converted outfielder, got the start for the GCL Rays and went 6 one-run innings allowing just 5 hits while striking out 4 and walking none. His groundout to flyout ratio was 6-5. Cabrera was an utter disaster after being signed as a 16 year old by the Rangers in 2006, but it is nice to see him reconstructing his career as a pitcher. So far in 2012, he has a 3.25 ERA with a 17-5 strikeout to walk ratio in 27.2 IP, pretty terrific for someone who started pitching full-time last year. Isaac Gil tossed the final three frames for the GCL Rays, allowing no runs on 3 hits, striking out 2 while walking 1 and posting a 5-1 groundout to flyout ratio. In terms of the precious little offense in the game, Leopoldo Correa went 3 for 3 with a walk but couldn’t factor in the scoring. Jiminson Natera‘s RBI single and Yoel Araujo‘s sac fly were the 2 GCL Rays runs. Bralin Jackson also went 1 for 4.

Triple-A International League: Game 2: Durham Bulls 2, Norfolk Tides (BAL) 0 (7 innings)

You can say want you want about losing in the minor leagues. However, losing game after game, series after series has an impact on the players involved. It could frustrate them and affect their play. And even if it doesn’t, it could make them stop caring about the team and care purely about their numbers, which is a derogatory notion as well. Even minor league teams need to win games. Lance Pendleton, the ex-big leaguer and elder statesman of the staff, gave the Durham Bulls the outing they needed to help break out of this slump. Pendleton went 5 shutout innings, allowing just 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. He forced 4 groundouts to 1 flyout. The Bulls backed him up with just 2 hits- but they made them count. In the third inning, Jeff Salazar singled, moved to second on Craig Albernaz‘s sac bunt, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Cole Figueroa‘s sac fly. Then in the 5th, Matt Mangini slammed a fastball middle-in out to center for a solo home run to give Durham a 2-0 lead. John Gaub and Ryan Reid combined for a 1-2-3 innings in the 6th for the Bulls before Reid allowed 3 hits and a run in the 9th to make the game more tense at 2-1. But Dane De La Rosa struck out Allan de San Miguel to end the game as the Bulls held on to win 2-1 despite just two hits and a walk on the game. The Bulls improved their record to a slightly more reasonable 11-20. Hopefully the Bulls are just beginning to turn their season around and can continue grinding out wins.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 4, Chattanooga Lookouts (LAD) 1

Matt Buschmann is not about to blossom into a dominant pitcher. But he is starting to look like a steal as a waiver claim by the Rays back in mid-April. Buschmann breezed through 6 innings for the Biscuits on Sunday, allowing just 2 hits, striking out 2 while walking 2 but forcing a great 9-3 groundball to flyball ratio. He was so good that poor Matt Magill took the loss for the Lookouts despite allowing just 2 unearned runs in 5 innings!  Buschmann tossed just 70 pitches, just 39 of which were strikes, but he was getting outstanding movement on his sinker and forcing easy out after easy out. On offense for the Biscuits, Kyeong Kang continued his hot streak, going 1 for 3 with a solo home run, and Brad Coon and David Wendt each went 2 for 4, with Coon scoring a run and Wendt driving one in. Michael Sheridan also had an RBI single for the Biscuits in 4 trips (the other Biscuits run scored on an error). Hak-Ju Lee also had a hit for the Biscuits, going 1 for 4 with a run scored. The Biscuits improved to 14-17 on the season and Rays officials have to be ecstatic about Buschmann’s start. Executives on other teams who let Buschmann slip through their fingers have to be shaking their heads.

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.