Durham Bulls 4, Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals) 2

Before any scoring occurred in the game, there was considerable excitement, as Wil Myers was pulled after two innings. Was he about to be called up to Tampa? Turns out, it was merely a stomach bug, and Myers was removed simply because he did not feel well. Hopefully, Myers will be back in the lineup soon.

As for the game, the Bulls scored first in the bottom of the third, using back to back two out doubles by Brandon Guyer and Mike Fontenot to take a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Tim Beckham singled with runners on first and third and two out, driving in another run to extend the lead to 2-0. Syracuse came back with two runs of their own in the top of the fifth, as Micah Owings led off the frame with a home run, and Carlos Rivero had an RBI groundout. Unfazed, the Bulls took the lead right back in the bottom of the inning, as Leslie Anderson‘s sacrifice fly plated Fontenot with what would end up being the game winning run. The Bulls tacked on another run in the bottom of the eighth on a wild pitch, and ended up with a 4-2 victory. J.D. Martin picked up the win, pitching seven strong innings as he allowed two runs on five hits, striking out five. josh Lueke, who may be making an appearance in Tampa if the Rays bullpen continues to struggle, worked the final two innings for his seventh save of the year. Fontenot and Rich Thompson, who entered the game for Myers, each had two hits in the victory.

Mississippi Braves 5, Montgomery Biscuits 0

If the zero after the Montgomery Biscuits looks strange, it should. For the first time this season, the Biscuits were shut out. Alex Wood dominated the Montgomery lineup, allowing only two hits and two walks while striking out five over seven innings. The Biscuits did not even have a real scoring threat until Kyeong Kang tripled with two out in the bottom of the ninth, but he was left on third as Greg Sexton grounded out to end the game. The Braves scored runs in the second and fifth innings, before putting the game away in the top of the sixth. Following a lead off walk, Edward Salcedo doubled to drive in a run, and came around to score on a home run by Kyle Russell. Merrill Kelly took the loss, lasting five plus innings as he gave up five runs on seven hits and five walks. Kang had two the the Biscuits three hits, going 2-4 with the triple.

Bradenton Marauders (Pirates) 4, Charlotte Stone Crabs 3

The Marauders jumped out quickly against starter Jesse Hahn as he struggled for really the first time all season. Back to back singles put runners on second and third, as Benji Gonzalez advanced on the throw. A groundout drove home the first run of the game, and Jose Osuna drove in Gonzalez with an RBI single. After Osuna stole second, he scored on an error by Taylor Motter, giving Bradenton a quick 3-0 lead. Motter quickly had a chance to atone for his miscue, as he came up to bat with runners on first and second. After a wild pitch moved the runners up, Motter bunted for a base hit, driving in the Stone Crabs first run of the game. However, the very next batter lined to first, and Motter was doubled off the bag to end the inning. In the fifth, Motter once again came through, leading off the inning with a ground rule double. He moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to one. Charlotte tied the game in the seventh, as Kes Carter singled, stole second, and came around to score on a single by Drew Vettleson. However, Bradenton came back in the eighth. Elias Diaz walked, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After a wild pitch moved him to third, Dan Grovatt drove in Diaz with a sacrifice fly, providing the winning run in the Stone Crabs 4-3 loss. Hahn only lasted two innings, giving up three runs on three hits while striking out two. Despite allowing only one walk in 1.1 innings, Nate Garcia took the loss. Vettleson was 3-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.

Bowling Green Hot Rods 5, West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) 1

There is nothing quite like the manufactured run, which is how the Hot Rods got on the board in the first inning. Thomas Coyle led off the inning with a walk, and stole second. After a groundout moved him to third with two outs, Coyle scored on a wild pitch to give Bowling Green a 1-0 lead. That run held up until the top of the sixth, when, with runners on first and third and two outs, Jeff Holm tied the game with an RBI single. The Hot Rods stormed back in the bottom of the frame, aided by sloppy play from the Whitecaps. joey Rickard reached on an error, and was followed by a single by Coyle to put runners on first and second. Tyler Goeddel followed with a single that would have loaded the bases; however Danny Vazquez had problems fielding the ball cleanly, allowing the runners to move up and putting the Hot Rods ahead 2-1. Andrew Toles followed with a two run single, and came around to score on a double by Luke Maile. The Whitecaps made the game interesting in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs, but Nick Sawyer was able to end the threat by getting Mario Martinez to ground out to end the game. Dylan Floro earned the win, giving up one run on five hits and a walk over six innings, striking out four. Toles and Maile each had two hits in the victory.

Triple-A International League: Gwinnett Bulls 10, Durham Bulls 5

An inning of nightmares sent Josh Lueke and the Bulls to a loss they would rather that not talk about. The loss was especially meaningful for the Bulls not just for what happened in the game, but the implications of the loss.

With the Bulls loss tonight and Charlotte’s win, Durham has been eliminated from the IL South race for the first time since 2006.

— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) August 19, 2012

The Bulls’ incredible run of five straight division titles has come to an end. In this game, Jim Paduch and Josh Lueke utterly imploded to allow an 8-run 5th inning to erase a 4-1 lead. Lueke had one of the worst outings of his life, allowing 6 runs on 7 hits in just two-thirds of an inning. Lueke has been pitching extremely well up until this bump in the road and hopefully this is just a one-time deal and we’ll see him pitching well in the big leagues in September. Lefty Adam Liberatore did strike out 5 while walking none in 2.1 innings of relief, but by then it was too late. Nevin Ashley did have an outstanding game for Durham, going 2 for 2 with a double, a homer, 2 walks, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, Brooks Conrad also homered, and Henry Wrigley went 2 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored.

Double-A Southern League: Huntsville Stars (MIL) 6, Montgomery Biscuits 5 (10 innings)

If you want to experience just a little bit of what it’s like to be an Angels fan right now, you can think about this Biscuits game. The Biscuits had a 5-0 lead after 3 innings before letting it slip away. The Biscuits scored 5 runs in the second and third innings, with 3 of the runs being driven in by ninth-place hitter Mark Thomas, and starter Jake Thompson gave the Biscuits a strong performance, going 6 innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, striking out 2 while walking 1 and posting a 10-4 groundout to flyout ratio. But the Stars pulled within 5-3 on a Kentrail Davis home run off of C.J. Riefenhauser and tied the game in the bottom of the 8th as Kirby Yates walked the bases loaded before allowing a Brock Kjeldgaard 2-run single. And in the 10th, Davis came through again with a walk-off single against Neil Schenk as the Biscuits had completely fallen apart to lose 6-5. The Biscuits scored 5 runs on just 6 hits, but they talled 11 walks and failed to capitalize, leaving 11 runners on base in the game. Thomas went 3 for 5 with a double, 3 RBI, and a run scored in the loss.

Great to see Torrez come back the way he did. (Credit: Flickr user BeGreen90)

High-A Florida State League: Charlotte Stone Crabs 9, St. Lucie Mets 8

No disappointment here as the Stone Crabs came up with an incredible comeback of their own. Eliazer Suero tossed 3 shutout innings but came apart in the 5th, allowing 5 runs, just 2 earned after a Riccio Torrez error. On the day he was not that bad, going 3.2 innings allowing just the 2 earned runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 2 and posting a 4-2 groundout to flyout ratio, but the Stone Crabs were down 5-1. However, they pulled within 5-4 in the 5th on a Luke Bailey RBI double an RBI single by Robby Price, and an RBI groundout by Kevin Kiermaier. In the 6th, Alonzo Harris dampened the Stone Crabs’ spirits with a 2-run home run off of Theron Geith to extend the St. Lucie lead to 7-4. The game would remain that way until the 8th. And in the 8th, Bailey came up huge, drilling a 3-run home run to tie the game at 7. But adversity still remained for Charlotte as Daniel Muno singled home a run off of Lenny Linsky to give St. Lucie an 8-7 lead going to the bottom of the 9th. However, the Stone Crabs were not going to be denied. With 2 outs and no one on, Philip Wunderlich was hit by a pitch. Then Steven Tinoco singled. Riccio Torrez, who committed the pivotal error earlier in the game, got redemption with a game-tying RBI double. And an error gave the Stone Crabs a walk-off win by a score of 9-8. Bailey had an unbelievable game, going 3 for 4 with 2 doubles, 1 homer, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Bailey has notched 6 hits in his last 3 games, all for extra bases. This is the player that the Rays have been waiting for since the moment they drafted him in 2009 and maybe this could be Bailey’s coming-out party. Price went 3 for 4, Tinoco went 3 for 5, and Cody Rogers and Riccio Torrez both went 2 for 5, with Torrez lacing 2 doubles including the game-tying hit in the 9th.

Low-A Midwest League: South Bend Silver Hawks (ARI) 11, Bowling Green Hot Rods 10

This game may very well have been the craziest in the history of the Hot Rods. Unfortunately, they could not come away with a win. This game got off to an incredible start for Bowling Green as they scored twice on bases-loaded walks in the 1st before Drew Vettleson slammed a 2-run homer in the 2nd to give them a 4-0 lead. Roberto Gomez was great in his shortened 3 inning start as the Rays have been holding back his innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits, striking out 4 while walking none. Felipe Rivero struck out 2 in a perfect 4th and then used a double play to face the minimum in the 5th. But looking in the boxscore, there’s a line that nobody wants to see. “Rivero, Fe pitched to 7 batters in the 6th.” It was an inning that you never hope to see your entire career. Better it happen at Low-A than higher up. Rivero allowed 7 runs, 6 earned, on 6 hits as he failed to record an out in the 6th inning and Charlie Cononie allowed 3 more before he could escape the inning as the Hot Rods allowed 10 runs in the inning to fall behind 10-4. That type of inning is enough to demoralize any team. We saw a 7-run 5th inning take the life out of the Angels in the Rays’ game on Saturday night. But the Hot Rods somehow refused to be fazed and came right back. In the 6th, the Hot Rods tallied 2 runs on a Tyler Goeddel RBI double to go along with a Drew Vettleson RBI single. And in the 7th, the Hot Rods put together a rally to tie the game, with Juniel Querecuto drilling a 2-run double, Ryan Brett doubling home a run, and Vettleson singled up the middle to tie it at 10 as the Hot Rods had put together an incredible comeback. Cononie and Frank Santana both tossed scoreless half-innings in the 8th. But in the 9th, the Hot Rods picked the wrong time to fall apart defensively as throwing errors by the third baseman Goeddel and the first baseman Jeff Malm scored the go-ahead run as South Bend won 11-10. Vettleson had a big game, going 4 for 5 with a homer, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Goeddel went 3 for 5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored, Jake Hager went 3 for 5, Taylor Motter went 2 for 4 with a walk, his 20th stolen base, an RBI, and a run scored, Malm went 2 for 3 with a double, 2 walks, and a run scored, and Ryan Brett doubled home a run and also stole a base, his 48th of the season.

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 6, Lowell Spinners (BOS) 5

No comeback here, but it got awfully scary for the Renegades. Taylor Guerrieri started and pitched well, allowing 1 run on 4 hits in 3 innings, striking out 1 while walking none and posting a 6-0 groundout to flyout ratio. The ‘Gades took a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning on a Joel Caminero RBI double followed by a Jake DePew RBI single, and after the Spinners tallied a run in the bottom of the inning, Ryan Dunn doubled home a run in the 3rd to make it 4-1 Hudson Valley. Jeff Ames then came in for the Renegades and tossed 3 sharp innings, allowing no runs on just 1 hit, striking out 4 while walking none. The Renegades extended their lead to 6-1 with Ames in the game on a Joey Rickard sac fly to score DePew in the 4th before DePew slammed a solo home run in the 6th. Marcus Jensen and Ryan Garton then tossed a scoreless inning each and the Renegades were on their way to a crisp win. But then Dylan Floro had an inning he would like to forget. With 1 out, Floro allowed triple, single, double, with the single and double each plating a run, and then a Luke Maile error made it a 6-4 game with just 1 out. Floro forced a groundout, but then a Roberto Reyes infield single that Richie Shaffer couldn’t handle made it 6-5. But Floro forced Matthew Gedman to ground out to end it as the Renegades won 6-5. DePew had a career day, going 4 for 4 with a double, a homer, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored, Ryan Dunn went 2 for 2 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored, and Tommy Coyle stole his 15th base of the season for the Renegades.

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Johnson City Cardinals 9, Princeton Rays 8

Oh, Rookie ball. It spawns the types of games that you never see anywhere else, like this one. Blake Snell had a rare bad start, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits in 2 innings, striking out 2 while walking 1, and Daniel Bream allowed a Ricardo Lizcano 2-run shot in the 4th inning to give Johnson City a 5-0 lead. But then the tide completely turned. Reid Redman doubled home a run in the 5th to make it 5-1. Oscar Hernandez slammed a 2-run homer in the 6th to pull Princeton within 5-3. And then in the 7th, the P-Rays the completely reversed their fortunes. Brandon Martin led off the inning with a homer and it was 5-4. An Omar Narvaez RBI single tied the game. A 2-run double by John Alexander make it 7-5. And Ariel Soriano singled home a run to make it 8-5 as suddenly the P-Rays had scored 8 unanswered runs to turn what looked like a sure loss into a relatively comfortable lead. But anything can and does happen in Rookie ball. Nick Sawyer, who has been next to automatic for Princeton this season, came in for his second inning of work as he tried to nail down the save. Sawyer struck out the first two batters of the inning. Saywer then walked Ricardo Lizcano, but he forced C.J. McElroy to hit a groundball to short. But Martin misplayed the ball, scoring a run and keeping the Cardinals alive. And Sawyer then fell apart, allowing a Ildemaro Vargas RBI double, a Jeremy Shaeffer RBI triple, and walk-off single by Trevor Martin as Johnson City won 9-8 with 4 unearned runs in the 9th. Hernandez and Martin both homered and Omar Narvaez, John Alexander, Reid Redman, Willie Argo, and Ariel Soriano all had multi-hit games, but the result was unfortunately a debilitating loss.

Double-A Southern League: Jackson Generals (SEA) 3, Montgomery Biscuits 1

Matt Buschmann pitched well, but the offense wasn’t there to back him up as the Biscuits fell 3-1. Buschmann tossed 7 innings allowing just 2 runs, 1 earned, on 5 hits, striking out 5 while walking 1 as he threw 63 of 97 pitches for strikes. You have to think that he’ll be back at Triple-A soon, and don’t be surprised if he gets his first big league look in  September- especially if David Price has his way, because Buschmann roomed with Price for a time at Vanderbilt. Tyler Bortnick had a double and the Biscuits’ only RBI in this one, while Ty Morrison and Omar Luna both went 2 for 5.

High-A Florida State League: Palm Beach Cardinals 10, Charlotte Stone Crabs 9

Even after a horrific start, you never know what can happen if your bullpen can just keep the other team at bay. Unfortunately it was too little, too late for the Stone Crabs as they fell just short of overcoming a 6-0 deficit after 3 innings. C.J. Riefenhauser had his second straight disaster start, allowing 7 runs, 6 earned, on 7 hits in 4+ innings. His peripherals were not as disastrous as he struck out 3 while walking 1 and posted a 5-2 groundout to flyout ratio, but he got hit pretty hard in this one. Alex Koronis allowed 3 more runs in 2 innings but Theron Geith came through with 2 shutout innings to give the Stone Crabs a chance. The Stone Crabs offense gave their all, scoring 9 while stranding just 5 runners. Derek Dietrich was right in the middle, going 3 for 5 with a 3-run homer, a double, and 2 runs scored, and Riccio Torrez had a 2-run shot as part of a 1 for 3 day with a walk. Mikie Mahtook, Hector Guevara, and Robi Estrada combined for 1 hit between themselves yet managed the other 4 RBI.

Low-A Midwest League: Lake County Captains (CLE) 7, Bowling Green Hot Rods 6 (11 innings)

Another classic here as the Hot Rods got shoddy bullpen work by rallied back from a 6-3 deficit in the 9th to send the game into extra innings. Roberto Gomez actually had a nice start at the beginning of this but could not provide much length as he allowed 1 run on 4 hits in 4 innings, striking out 2 while walking 1 and posting a 3-1 groundout to flyout ratio. In the 9th, Taylor Motter had a huge 2-out 2-run double to tie it up, but Bryson Byles had a go-ahead sac fly for Lake County in the 11th. Jeff Malm had a solo homer, Tyler Goeddel had an encouraging day, going 1 for 2 with 2 walks and a run scored, and other than Motter’s clutch hit, Jake Hager, Ryan Brett, and Keith Castillo had the other Hot Rods RBIs.

Short Season-A New York-Penn League: Hudson Valley Renegades 4, Auburn Doubledays (WSN) 1

2012 9th round pick Joey Rickard had a nice debut, and the pitchers really shined in this one for Hudson Valley. Rickard went 2 for 5 leading off a playing centerfield and other 2012 draft picks had nice games as Ryan Dunn went 1 for 5 with a double and 3 RBI, and Tommy Coyle went 2 for 4 with a walk. And then there were the pitchers. Jeff Ames was nice, allowing 1 run on 3 hits in 5 innings, striking out 4 while walking none, Brandon Henderson struck out 4 without walking a batter in 2.2 shutout innings, and Ryan Garton continued his ridiculous start to his pro career, striking out 2 in 1.1 perfect innings for his first professional save as he has now thrown 9 pro innings allowing just 2 hits and not a single run- earned or unearned- and striking out 13 while walking none. Unbelievable.

Snell has been unhittable. Sheesh. (Credit: Area Code Baseball via Flickr)

Advanced Rookie Appalachian League: Princeton Rays 3, Danville Braves 2

Hitters simply want no part of lefty Blake Snell right now. Snell, one of the Rays many supplemental picks in 2011, has been lights out all season, lowering his ERA to 0.40 after allowing just 1 unearned run (and 0 unearned runs) in 22.2 IP. In this one, he tossed 5 shutout innings allowing 4 hits, striking out 2 while walking 1 and posting a 6-3 groundout to flyout ratio. After Jon Weaver let up a couple runs in 1.2 IP- although he did strike out 3, Nick Sawyer continued his incredible pro debut, striking out 2 in 1.1 perfect innings of his own. Between the GCL Rays and P-Rays, Sawyer has now gone 7 shutout innings allowing 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10. Alex Keudell struck out 2 in a shutout inning for the save in this one. There was little offense to be found in this one as the P-Rays won despite being 4-hit, but Willie Argo was the hero with a 2 for 4 day with a double, a triple, an RBI, and a run scored, while Brandon Martin and Reid Redman had the other hits and Daryl George had the only other RBI.

Rookie Gulf Coast League: GCL Twins 5, GCL Rays 2

You can bet that Carlos Cedeno can’t wait to get out of Rookie ball after a start like this. Cedeno pitched pretty darn well in this one, allowing just 3 hits in 4 innings, striking out 2 while walking 1 and posting an 8-3 groundout to flyout ratio. He allowed no home runs and exactly one extra-base hit, a double with no one on base and 2 outs. Yet he managed to allow 4 runs, just 1 earned, as the GCL Rays made (gasp) 5 errors in this game, including one by Cedeno himself. Jordan Harrison pitched pretty well in relief, allowing 1 run on 5 hits in 3 innings, striking out 4 while walking none and posting a 3-0 groundout to flyout ratio and Alex Moshier tossed a hitless 9th, but the damage was already done. Second round pick Spencer Edwards had a horrific game, going 0 for 5 with 4 strikeouts and an error at shortstop. He’s now 0 for 7 to begin his career. He just has to relax and let his ability come out, and I’m sure we’ll see that soon. Bralin Jackson had a great game, meanwhile, going 2 for 4 with a double, a triple, a walk, and a run scored, while Johnny Eierman had an RBI double and Leopoldo Corea had the other RBI.