Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 8, Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (PHI) 6

The Bulls got great production from the bottom of their lineup and the pitchers were just good enough as Durham hung on to beat Lehigh Valley 8-6. Jim Paduch got the start and was pretty good going 5.2 innings allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, on 6 hits, not striking out or walking a batter and posting a 9-6 groundout to flyout ratio. He was relieved by Cesar Ramos, who posted a 6-0 groundout to flyout ratio but was unimpressive otherwise, going 2.2 innings allowing 3 runs, 2 earned, on 5 hits, once again not striking out or walking a batter. Dane De La Rosa got the final 2 outs for the save, allowing 1 hit and once again recording 0 strikeouts and not walking a single batter. Bulls pitchers had a nice 16-6 groundout to flyout ratio on the day, but it was pretty bizarre that despite using three pitches, they didn’t strike out a single batter or even walk one. But it was fine as they were good enough to win. Jesus Feliciano and Matt Mangini had huge days out of the 9th and 8th spots in the order, both going 3 for 4, and Feliciano had a double and 4 RBI while Mangini had 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Stephen Vogt led off in the game for about the first time in his life and went 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. Sam Fuld went 0 for 4 with a walk in his rehab appearance.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 3, Mobile Baybears (ARI) 2

This game happened before the Rays’ major league game, but it was about as similar as you’ll see. Alex Colome mirrored Matt Moore, having big control problems, but he was able to hold down the fort, going 5.1 innings allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, striking out 4 while walking 5. His groundout to flyout ratio was a little more normal than Moore, coming in at 4-6 to Moore’s 0-11. Neil Schenk and Kirby Yates tossed the final 3.2 innings to keep the game at 3-2, and that would be the final. Ryan Garko and Mayo Acosta each had RBI doubles, and Greg Sexton went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored.

High-A Florida State League: Daytona Cubs 6, Charlotte Stone Crabs 1

Albert Suarez saved the Stone Crabs’ bullpen with 6.2 innings in a game where the Charlotte offense was shut down by the Cubs, and unfortunately it came apart at the end as the Stone Crabs lost 6-1. Suarez allowed 3 runs through 6 innings before coming apart for 3 runs in the 7th. Overall, he went 6.2 innings allowing 6 runs, 4 earned, on 8 hits, striking out 2 while walking 2. His groundout to flyout ratio was 5-6. George Jensen tossed the final 1.1 innings scoreless. The Stone Crabs offense was essentially the Derek Dietrich and Riccio Torrez show, with Dietrich going 3 for 4 with a double, and Torrez going 2 for 4 with the only run scored. Robi Estrada had the Stone Crabs’ only RBI on a sac fly.

Hahn has had a tough time here is his first pro season, but nice to see him put together a great outing. (Credit: DiamondScape Scouting)

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 4, Brooklyn Cyclones (NYM) 1

The Renegades pitching duo of Jesse Hahn and Eduar Quinonez, a couple of pitchers who have struggled all season, was sharp all night as the Renegades rolled to a 4-1 win. Hahn channeled his inner Noodles Hahn, going 4 innings allowing just 1 hit, striking out 1 while walking none, and posting a 10-0 groundout to flyout ratio. Quinonez finished off the game by tossing the final 5 innings in relief allowing just 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 4 while walking 1 and posting a 6-3 groundout to flyout ratio. Nice to see those two get on track. On offense, Luke Maile slammed a solo homer, Leonardo Reginatto continued hitting well with runners in scoring position with a 2-run single, and Ryan Dunn went 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Bluefield Blue Jays 5,  Princeton Rays 4

The P-Rays came back from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game at 4, but the Blue Jays got a run in the bottom of the 8th to win 5-4. Kevin James had an unusually short start, throwing just an inning allowing just a hit while striking out 2. Hugo Duarte relieved him and wasn’t nearly as good, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits in 4 innings, striking out 2 while walking 1. The P-Rays finally got a run on a James Harris groundout in Duarte’s final inning before getting 2 more in the 6th on an Ariel Soriano RBI single and an Oscar Hernandez sac fly. They tied it in the 8th on a Reid Redman triple followed by a wild pitch. But an error on an Art Charles single against Alex Keudell brought home the go-ahead run in the 8th for Bluefield as they won 5-4. Redman went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple, a walk, and 2 runs scored, Alvin Toles went 2 for 4 with a double, and Daryl George went 2 for 4 as well.

Rookie Gulf Coast League: GCL Red Sox 4, GCL Rays 3 (10 innings)

The GCL Rays bullpen let a 3-0 lead slip away as they lost in 10 innings. Jorge Rodriguez had a nice start for the Rays, going 4 shutout innings allowing 5 hits and no walks while striking out 4. His groundout to flyout ratio was just 1-7. Kyle Pelchy allowed the Red Sox to tie it in 2.2 innings of work before an unearned run gave the Red Sox the lead in the 10th, and that would be the difference. Spencer Edwards slammed his first professional home run, a solo shot, for the GCL Rays, and Cesar Perez had a 2-run double.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 4, Buffalo Bisons (NYM) 3

The Bulls faced a tough assignment of their own, matched up against Mets top pitching prospect Matt Harvey. They threw right-hander Matt Buschmann in his Durham debut, making a spot start because Alexander Torres was called up to Tampa Bay. The two pitchers battled to make it a good one. Harvey went 5 innings allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, striking out 6 while walking 2 while Buschmann went 5.1 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 3. Both runs he allowed were on solo home runs, one by Fred Lewis and one by Josh Rodriguez, and he allowed all 3 of his walks, along with a hit batsman, in the 5th and 6th innings. Buschmann isn’t quite where he wants to be yet, but it was a solid debut and Buschmann looks to continue his surprise breakout season (more on Buschmann over the next couple of days at RCG). On offense, Matt Mangini had a big day, going 3 for 4 with 1 homer and 2 RBI, Rich Thompson went 3 for 4 with a triple and an RBI, and Jeff  Salazar went 2 for 4 with a double and 1 run scored. An interesting storyline in the game was that Reid Brignac and Tim Beckham switched positions, with Brignac playing shortstop and Beckham playing second base. Brignac went 1 for 4 with a double and a run scored to extend his hitting streak to 7 while Beckham went 0 for 3 with a walk.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 5, Mobile Baybears (ARI) 2

Oh, Joseph Cruz. He frustrates you even in his good outings. Cruz had a nice start in this one in terms of pure performance, going 6 shutout innings. However, he allowed 3 hits and 6 walks while striking out just 3. His 7-5 groundout to flyout ratio didn’t help matters either. But Cruz did earn the win, improving to 5-6 on the season. The Biscuits offense had a nice day, banging out 5 runs on 13 hits. Omar Luna and Ryan Garko each had a double, 2 RBI, and a run scored, Luna as part of a 2 for 5 day while Garko went 3 for 5, and Ty Morrison and Brett Nommensen each went 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 3, Dayton Dragons (CIN) 2

This game featured the same score and scoring pattern as the Rays’ first game Sunday as they fell behind 1-0, scored 3 straight runs, and then allowed another run but held on to win 3-2. Roberto Gomez wasn’t exactly David Price, going 5 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 4. Trevor Shull earned the win in the game with 2.2 innings of 1 run relief, and Charlie Cononie was great for the 4-out save, striking out 3 while walking 1. Like the Rays, the Hot Rods’ big bat was a first baseman, not their first baseman in the game, but a player who’s a natural first baseman in Jeff Malm, their DH in this one. Malm went 2 for 4 with a homer, a double, and 2 RBI. Alejandro Segovia homered for the other RBI. Tyler Goeddel also went 1 for 3 with a double and stole his 16th base of the season.

Short Season-A New York Penn-League: Staten Island Yankees 9, Hudson Valley Renegades 1

After the Hot rods battered the Yankees 10-1 on Saturday, the Yankees came right back on Sunday. Jesse Hahn had a nightmare of an outing, allowing 7 runs ,6 ER, on 7 hits in just 1.1 innings, striking out none while walking 3. He did post a 2-0 groundout to flyout ratio. Eduar Quinonez did follow him with a solid appearance, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits in 4.2 innings, striking out 5 while walking 1 and forcing a 4-2 groundout to flyout ratio. Ryan Garton retains a 0.00 ERA through 2 pro relief appearances as he tossed a shutout frame, allowing 1 hit, and Jose Molina (a right-handed reliever) tossed a perfect 9th as well. The Renegades managed just 4 hits and the only player with a game he could write home about was Tommy Coyle, who went 1 for 3 with a walk and the only RBI.

Snell was as good as it gets on Sunday and it's unfortunate that rain got in the way. (Credit: Area Code Baseball via Flickr)

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Princeton Rays 5, Pulaski Mariners 4

This was one of the most exciting games in the Rays system this season. Blake Snell got the start and was as good as it gets. Snell went 3.2 perfect innings, striking out 6 and posting a 4-1 groundout to flyout ratio. Only a rain delay stopped him on this day. The P-Rays grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a 2-run single by third baseman Daryl George. Snell came through with his unbelievable outing, and he was replaced by Jon Weaver, who kept the combined perfecto going through 5.1 innings before allowing a double in the 6th and then he allowed a leadoff homer in the 7th to Bryan Brito to pull the Mariners within 2-1. Oscar Hernandez came right back for the P-Rays with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, his first of the season after 21 in the Venezuelan Summer League in 2011, to restore the P-Rays’ 2-run advantage. But the Mariners were not done fighting. Willie Gabay allowed a solo homer to Toby Demello in the 8th, and Randy Davis came in and allowed a double to Brito and a subsequent Martin Peguero game-tying sac fly to knot the game at 3. But in the bottom of the inning, with 2 outs and the bases loaded, Hernandez came through again, drilling a 2-run single. Zach Butler escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 9th allowing just 1 run on a hit-by-pitch as the P-Rays held on to win 5-4. Davis earned his first professional win despite the blown save and Butler earned his 3rd save of the season. Hernandez had his best game in America, going 2 for 4 with the homer and 3 huge RBI. It was a huge win in a crazy game for the P-Rays and they’re now 5-1 on the season.

Mangini was the 52nd overall pick by the Seattle Mariners in the 2007 MLB Draft out of Oklahoma State University. As a junior at Oklahoma State, Mangini posted a .332/.435/.531 line with 17 doubles and 9 homers, and the Mariners thought for sure that more power was bound to come. They signed him for $603,000 and he started his pro career in at Short Season-A before working his way up to High-A. The results were not very impressive as he posted a .252/.353/.395 line with 5 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 17 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. Defensively, he made 8 errors at third base for a bad .873 fielding percentage. His entire game was put into question.

Mangini spent 2008 between High-A and Double-A but the results were even worse. He posted just a .229/.306/.327 line, bad by any standards, with 17 doubles, 8 homers, 50 RBI, and 3 steals in 121 games. He struck out 116 times compared to just 35 walks and his OBP was only above .300 because he was hit by 12 pitches. He did up his fielding percentage to .922 for what it’s worth, but his actions at third base were choppy and he did not move well. It looked like he was becoming a third baseman who couldn’t hit- never a combination you would want. But in 2009, he finally had a breakout of sorts repeating Double-A, posting a .273/.339/.424 line with 18 doubles, 5 triples, 12 homers, 67 RBI, and 10 steals in 13 tries in 124 games. In just 2 fewer plate appearances, Mangini cut down his strikeouts from 116 to 92 while raising his walks slightly from 35 to 38. His defense still wasn’t great (.925 fielding percentage), but his power was beginning to show up.

2010 looked like the year that Mangini finally found his stroke. It turned out to be only temporary.(Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE)

In 2010, Mangini finally came through with the type of season that the Mariners had been hoping to see for a while. He posted a .313/.352/.521 line with 31 doubles, 4 triples, 18 homers, 63 RBI, and 3 steals in 117 games. He did walk just 26 times compared to 96 strikeouts, but at 24 years old, Mangini was finally hitting for power. Mangini made his big league debut in September of 2010 and went 8 for 41 (.211). But after Mangini missed nearly all of 2011 with quad injuries and hit just 2 home runs, the Mariners had seen enough, releasing Mangini in August. Mangini went unclaimed until the Rays signed him in December.

In spring training for the Rays, Mangini hit .308 (12 for 39) with 5 RBI, but managed just 1 extra-base hit, a double, while playing first and third base. Thus far in 2012 at Triple-A Durham, Mangini has posted a .273/.330/.364 line with 10 doubles, 3 homers, and 21 RBI in 56 games, playing primarily third base. His power still has not shown up, and if it had, he could have had a serious opportunity with Evan Longoria going down. There didn’t need to be a Drew Sutton coming in out of nowhere- it could have been Mangini.

Mangini is still pretty young- he doesn’t turn 27 until December. His career is by no means over. But he has to find his power stroke. The Rays signed Mangini hoping that 2012 would be the year where he finally figures something out at the plate to get consistent power production. Thus far, it has not been. Mangini’s story is still in progress. He still has the ability to turn this around. But the likelihood of that happening is looking increasingly bleak.