Toledo Mud Hens 7, Durham Bulls 5

Durham exploded for five runs in the top of the third innings, as Nevin Ashley homered to lead off the frame. After loading the bases with one out, Chris Gimenez hit a two run single, and Leslie Anderson and Cole Figueroa contributed RBI singles, putting the Bulls up 5-0. Toledo came back in the bottom of the inning, on Jerad Head‘s two out, two run home run. The Mud Hens scored twice more in the bottom of the fifth, as Don Kelly and John Lindsey each had two out RBI singles. The game became tied in the bottom of the seventh, when am error by Tim Beckham put Justin Henry on second. Henry would come around to score on Head’s RBI single. With two out and two on in the bottom of the eighth, Brad Davis doubled, plating two and giving the Mud Hens the eventual 7-5 victory. Ryan Reid picked up the loss, giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits over three innings. Anderson, Feliciano, and Reid Brignac each had two hits in the loss.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 10, West Michigan Whitecaps 4

Scoreless into the top of the fifth, the floodgates opened in the top of the fifth. Back to back doubles by Jeff Malm and Cameron Seitzer put the Hot Rods on the board. After a walk, Kes Carter had an RBI single, driving in Seitzer. After an out, another walk loaded the bases. A wild pitch and a sacrifice fly led to two more runs, as Bowling Green pulled out to a 4-0 lead. West Michigan got a run back in the bottom of the frame, as the Whitecaps had runners on second and third with no outs. A groundout lead to a run, but Ryan Carpenter managed to escape further harm. Bowling Green scored twice more in the top of the sixth, when Joshua Sale had a two out, two run single. The Whitecaps scored twice more in the bottom of the seventh, cutting the lead to 6-3, however, the Hot Rods put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth. The Hot Rods scored four times on three consecutive RBI singles and a sacrifice fly, stretching out to a 10-3 lead. West Michigan got a run back in the bottom of the ninth, but it was not enough as the Hot Rods rolled to a 10-4 victory. Carpenter picked up the win, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 2 in 6 innings of work. Four Rays had 2 hits each, with Malm and Seitzer each hitting 2 doubles.

GCL Rays 7, GCL Red Sox 3 (8 innings)

The Rays jumped out on the Red Sox early and often, cruising to a 7-3 victory. Yoel Araujo kicked off the scoring with a two run, two out double in the first inning, giving the Rays an early 2-0 lead. A Bralin Jackson two out triple plated another run in the top of the second. The Rays tacked on another run in the top of the fourth, and two more in the top of the fifth, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. The Red Sox clawed back, scoring single runs in the bottom of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to pull within three. The Rays put another run up in the top of the eighth, as Armando Araiza had an RBI double. The game was called with two out int he top of the eighth, giving the Rays a 7-3 win. Matthew Ramsey picked up the victory in relief, giving up 1 run on 2 hits and a walk over 1.1 innings, striking out 2 batters. Araiza, Jackson, and Benjamin Kline each had two hits in the victory.

Triple-A International League: Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (PHI) 10, Durham Bulls 1

Three pitchers pitched this game for the Bulls, 3 innings apiece. Two-thirds were a disaster. Alex Torres got the start and lasted just 3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits, striking out 2 while walking 3. His groundout to flyout ratio was an unimpressive 3-2. His ERA on the season now stands at 6.79.  The ability is still there with Torres, but other than intermittent flashes, the performance is not. Romulo Sanchez allowed 5 runs on 8 hits in the final 3 innings. But Josh Lueke may have really broken through. He went 3 innings in this one allowing no runs on 4 hits, striking out 4 while walking none and posting a 4-1 groundout to flyout ratio. Lueke was terrible when we saw him in the big leagues and his ERA this year in the minors is still just 5.32. But in his last 8 appearances (16 IP), Lueke has posted a 1.69 ERA and a 21-0 strikeout to walk ratio. You can’t be much better than that. Lueke turns 28 in December, but if he has really found something, he could have a promising career ahead as a middle reliever in the big leagues. On offense, Rich Thompson, Henry Wrigley, and Chris Gimenez all went 2 for 4, with Wrigley tripling in the only Durham run, and Tim Beckham went 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base.

Double-A Southern League: Montgomery Biscuits 6, Birmingham Barons (CHW) 2

Kyle Lobstein has managed a pretty solid year in 2012, posting a 4.02 ERA in 100.2 IP. But will he ever come up with peripherals to get him even up to that level? Lobstein went 6 innings allowing just 1 run on 4 hits on Thursday, striking out 6. That’s great. But he also walked 5 and his groundout to flyout ratio was 4-5. Lobstein seems to be gunning to become the Rays’ next enigmatic lefty, but honestly he doesn’t have the pure stuff to reach that level. Lobstein and the Biscuits got their run support on this game from Hak-Ju Lee, who went 3 for 5 with 2 steals, bringing his to 34 on the year, and a run scored, Greg Sexton, who went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, Michael Sheridan, who went 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored, and Ryan Garko and Ty Morrison, who each went 2 for 5.

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 2, Clearwater Threshers (PHI) 1

Next up on the enigmatic pitcher list is Enny Romero, who got the win in this one despite Brody Colvin pitching a whole lot better for Clearwater. Romero went 5 innings allowing just 1 run on 3 hits, but striking out 5 and walking 5 as well while managing a 6-4 groundout to flyout ratio. If he’s trying to emulate Matt Moore, somebody remind him that Moore didn’t really struggle until he arrived in the big leagues. Romero is a long way from that. Colvin went 7 innings allowing 2 runs on 8 hits, striking out 6 while walking 2 and posting a 9-4 groundout to flyout ratio. But between Romero’s luck and the bullpen’s prowess, the Stone Crabs managed to beat him. Lenny Linsky tossed 2 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits but striking out 1 while walking none in his first real encouraging outing of the season after coming back from a shoulder injury. He lowered his ERA on the year to a cool 7.00. Hopefully he can continue to lower that, but he needs a mulligan for this year and hopefully he can get back on the fast track to the big leagues in 2013. Theron Geith followed with a shutout inning before Chris Rearick tossed a perfect 9th with 2 strikeouts to nail down his 20th save of the season. On offense, Mikie Mahtook went 3 for 3 with a walk and his 19th steal of the season yet didn’t manage to factor in the scoring. Robby Price went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored, Luke Bailey went 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored, and Derek Dietrich had the other RBI for Charlotte.

Bierman is a polished right-hander who has started to dominate Short Season-A like he should. (Credit: University of Tampa student newspaper)

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 5, Aberdeen Ironbirds (BAL) 4

A bullpen collapse threatened to ruin a great game for Hudson Valley, but the Renegades managed to hold on. Sean Bierman tossed 5 shutout innings for the second start in a row, allowing just 4 hits and striking out 4 while walking none and posting a 7-0 groundout to flyout ratio. Great to see him pitching well after a rough start. Ian Kendall survived in relief of Bierman, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits in 3 innings, striking out 3 while walking 2 but posting just a 1-4 groundout to flyout ratio. But Ryan Garton had his second straight disaster appearance, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks in just a third of an inning, recording his only out via the strikeout. Garton had to come back to earth eventually, but hopefully he can get back on track in his next outing. Marcus Jensen retired both batters he faced for the save. In terms of the offense, Joey Rickard went 3 for 4 with a double, a stolen base, and 2 runs scored, Marty Gantt slammed a solo homer, and Justin O’Conner and Tommy Coyle also had RBIs for the Renegades.

Rookie Gulf Coast League: GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 2

As is far too prevalent in Rookie ball, terrible defense let this one slip away for the GCL Rays. Matthew Ramsey, the Rays’ 19th round pick in 2011, got the start, his first of his professional career after undergoing Tommy John Surgery soon after he was drafted. It was a short outing as Ramsey lasted just 0.2 innings, allowing a hit and striking out 1. Ramsey has an intriguing fastball-curveball arsenal in a relief role, and hopefully his rehab continues to progress well. Luis Cabrera pitched next for the GCL Rays and went 4.2 innings, allowing 4 runs, just 1 earned, on 3 hits, striking out 3 while walking 2 and posting a 7-4 groundout to flyout ratio. Brett Blaise didn’t allow a run in the the final 3.2 innings, although he really had to work out of trouble, allowing 2 hits and 4 walks while striking out just 2, posting a 3-2 groundout to flyout ratio. On offense, Ben Kline went 2 for 4 to raise his average to .463 on the season in 54 plate appearances, and Bralin Jackson and Spencer Edwards each went 1 for 3 with a double, a walk, and a run scored, with Edwards also driving in a run.