Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 13, Syracuse Chiefs (WAS) 3

Through his first 10 games of the 2013 season, Vince Belnome had really been struggling, going just 6 for 29 (.207) with no homers, 2 doubles, and  2 RBI. Then the last 10 games have been an entirely different story. Belnome has hit .486 (18 for 37) with 5 doubles, 4 homers, and 15 RBI including his second four-hit game in five days on Sunday to lead the Bulls to a 13-3 victory. J.D. Martin, the only pitcher in a prospect-laden Bulls rotation who isn’t really a prospect, got the start for Durham and allowed quite a few hits, 10 in 6 innings, but managed to deliver a good outing nevertheless, allowing just 3 runs while striking out 6 and walking none. Martin has now allowed 38 hits in 26 innings pitched, but his strikeout to walk ratio on the season has been really impressive as he has struck out 21 (7.3 per 9) while walking just 4 (1.4 per 9). Will Inman and Kirby Yates finished off the game for the Bulls striking out 4 while allowing just 1 hit over the final 3 innings. Now to the offense. Belnome had a huge game, going 4 for 5 with a homer, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored, Cole Figueroa went 2 for 4 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored, and Tim Beckham went 2 for 5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Beckham is another player who has been red-hot of late, hitting .353 (12 for 34) in his last 10 games after starting just 6 for 31 (.194). Wil Myers and Jason Bourgeois also had multiple RBI for the Bulls, who had an outstanding all-around day on their way to an easy win.

Double-A Southern League: Birmingham Barons (CHW) 14, Montgomery Biscuits 8

How crazy was this game? Every hitter in both teams’ lineups reached base at least once, with every player but one for Birmingham reaching at least twice, and the winning pitcher in this game allowed 6 earned runs. Go figure. Enny Romero started and didn’t have any control for Montgomery, going 3 innings allowing 4 runs on 3 hits, striking out 3 while walking 4. Just 39 of his 80 pitches were strikes. Andrew Bellatti and Zach Quate were even worse behind him, allowing 9 runs in 2.1 innings, before C.J. Riefenhauser and Braulio Lara held the Barons to just one more run in the final 2.2 frames. On the whole, Biscuits pitching had an afternoon they would much rather forget. The lopsided score overshadowed the enormous game that the Biscuits received from Todd Glaesmann, who went 3 for 5 with a double, a homer, 5 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Glaesmann, the Rays’ 2012 Minor League Player of the Year, has struggled to a .253/.301/.453 line so far this season for the Biscuits with his plate discipline being a major concern, but he has incredible power and he just has to learn to harness it more often. Mikie Mahtook and Cameron Seitzer also notched 3-hit games for the Biscuits, with Mahtook going 3 for 5 with a triple, a double, a stolen base, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, and Seitzer going 3 for 3 with 2 doubles, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored. Seitzer continues to thoroughly impress, now getting his average up to .318 on the season, and between Glaesmann, Seitzer, and Mahtook, the Biscuits will be just fine on offense–if only they can get some pitching.

High-A Florida State League: Lakeland Flying Tigers 11, Charlotte Stone Crabs 4

No one can do anything against Jesse Hahn right now. However, the Rays have limited to just 3 innings per start for right now as they try to limit his innings, and the Stone Crabs have to worry about the other 6 innings of the game. Hahn’s ERA in this one was 0.00–the rest of the Stone Crabs had an ERA of 16.50. Hahn went 3 innings allowing just 1 hit, striking out 4 while walking 2. He has now tossed 15 innings allowing just 1 run on 10 hits, striking out 16 while walking just 4. With a fastball hitting 98 MPH, Hahn is an excellent prospect for the Rays, but you really want to see him go more innings before you start evaluating him. If Hahn does keep dominating even when he gets extended to 5 or 6 innings, though, the innings he’s saving early on in the year may be enough for Hahn to surface in a big league bullpen role at the end of the year if the Rays so choose. But the rest of Charlotte’s pitchers were a great deal worse. Jake Floethe has had his moments this season relieving Hahn but had absolutely nothing in this game, going 3+ innings allowing 5 runs, 4 earned, on 7 hits, striking out just 1 while walking 3. Floethe simply didn’t have it, but because Hahn only went 3 innings and the Stone Crabs needed length from Floethe, they basically had to hang him out to dry. Nate Garcia allowed 6 more runs in 2.2 innings before first baseman/left fielder Steven Tinoco came to the mound to record the final out of the game. Tinoco also had a solid day at the plate, going 1 for 4 with a walk and 2 RBI, and Drew Vettleson and Luke Scott both went 2 for 5 with a double, with Scott also scoring a run. How he performed Monday was going to determine whether Scott returned to the major leagues for the Rays on Tuesday, and it looked like he will make his long-awaited season debut after looking great for the Stone Crabs the last few days.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 9, Peoria Chiefs (STL) 4

Granden Goetzman was a second round pick by the Rays in 2011 and has been a highly-touted prospect since then–but played in only 37 games because of a series of injuries. Goetzman hopes that this is the year he stays healthy and shows what he can do, and he got off to a great start in his season debut with the Hot Rods, slamming a 3-run triple as the Hot Rods won 9-4. Eduar Quinonez got the start for Bowling Green and allowed 3 runs on 5 innings, but this game was really all about the offense. Marty Gantt, who has found his way to the third spot in the Bowling Green batting order after batting a low as 9th earlier in the season, went 1 for 3 with a 2-run homer, 2 walks, and 3 runs scored, Tommy Coyle went 1 for 3 with a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored out of the leadoff spot, and Luke Maile, Patrick Leonard, and Leonardo Reginatto also had multi-hit games to go along with Goetzman’s 3 RBI as the Hot Rods offense pulled away in this one even batting against one of the Cardinals’ top prospects, right-hander Tyrell Jenkins. The Hot Rods went a ridiculous 5 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left just 6 runners on base all game as they made the most of their opportunities and made sure this one wasn’t close.

Double-A Southern League: Tennessee Smokies (CHC) 8, Montgomery Biscuits 3

Not much going on for the Biscuits in this one, although a few players did have nice games. Merrill Kelly and Andrew Bellatti allowed just 8 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings, but Matt Nevarez followed by looking sharp in his season debut, striking out 2 in a scoreless inning working around a walk. Nevarez had been dealing with shoulder soreness, but he was able to get beyond that and get off to a nice start in his first outing. On the offensive side, Todd Glaesmann had a nice game, going 3 for 4 with a double and a run scored, and Mark Thomas went 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI while Mikie Mahtook went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Obviously you want the entire team doing better, but it was great for Nevarez to start so well and all three players who had multi-hit games have been struggling to begin the year, making their nice performances even more notable.

High-A Florida State League: St. Lucie Mets 2, Charlotte Stone Crabs 1

The Stone Crabs shouldn’t have messed with the formula. Despite the trio of Jesse Hahn, Jake Floethe, and Lenny Linsky doing great things the last several times out, Charlotte changed up who would pitch on Monday, putting Jacob Partridge behind Hahn and Floethe. Partridge pitched well, striking out the side working around a walk in the 9th, but after a game like this you can’t ignore the urge to find someone to blame. Jesse Hahn was a little enigmatic but kept the Mets off the board, going 3 innings allowing no runs on 3 hits, striking out 1 while walking 1 and managing a 5-1 groundout to flyout ratio. Jake Floethe, though, let up 2 runs, 1 earned on 4 hits in 5 innings, striking out 2 while walking 2, and that would prove to be the difference. Alejandro Segovia did have a nice day at the plate for Charlotte, going 2 for 3 with 2 doubles, a walk, and an RBI, and Kes Carter went 2 for 4 with a double and a stolen base, but they accounted for most of the Stone Crabs’ offense as they got some baserunners but went just 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Tough loss for Charlotte, especially with the pairing of Hahn and Floethe pitching solidly again.

Low-A Midwest League: Bowling Green Hot Rods 10, Fort Wayne TinCaps (SDP) 5

When we watch games at the major league level, one of the keys for pitchers is the ability to battle to keep their team in games even without their best stuff. Taylor Guerrieri has pitched so well in his pro career that we can forget that even he has his bad days. When that happened for him on Monday, though, he followed the lead of the Rays’ starting staff he hopes to join within a couple of years and fought to give the Hot Rods 5 solid innings. Guerrieri, usually a control artist, was really off against Fort Wayne, walking 2 batters and hitting 2 more with pitches while striking out just 1 in 5 innings of work. However, he held the TinCaps to just 3 runs, 2 earned, on 5 hits, forcing a 9-3 groundout to flyout ratio, and while it was far from his best game, he was rewarded with a victory, his first of the season and second of his career, for his efforts. The Hot Rods’ offense certainly helped. Tyler Goeddel kept his hot streak going with his best game yet, going 3 for 5 with a stolen base and a run scored. He has now hit in 10 straight games, managing a .333/.391/.478 line over that span. But while Goeddel was great, it was three other Hot Rods who stole the show with 3 RBI each. Marty Gantt slammed a 3-run home run in the 5th inning, Andrew Toles went 2 for 5 with 2 doubles, a stolen base, and 3 RBI, and Joey Rickard had a bases-clearing 3-run double in the 4th. Ryan Dunn and Leonardo Reginatto also had multiple hits for the Hot Rods as they pounded out 10 runs on 12 hits as their offense was in full throttle. Great to see Guerrieri overcome some adversity, and especially in the Rays organization, offensive outbursts like this are always special.

Triple-A International League: Durham Bulls 6, Charlotte Knights (CHW) 3

It was the type of game summary the Rays want to hear at the major league level later this year: Chris Archer was sharp and Wil Myers laced a go-ahead 2-run single with 2 outs in the 9th as the Bulls beat the Knights 6-3. Archer was not at his best but delivered a solid outing, going 5 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 6 while walking 3 and forcing a 7-2 groundout to flyout ratio. He departed with the Bulls ahead 3-2 after RBI singles by Leslie Anderson and Mike Fontenot and a run-scoring groundout off the bat of Jason Bourgeois, but Will Inman blew the lead in the 6th and the game was tied 3-3 entering the 9th. In the final frame, the Bulls had the bases loaded with 2 outs as Wil Myers stepped to the plate. And with Durham needing him to deliver, Myers came through with exactly what they needed, drilling a 2-run single to make it 5-3 before Anderson padded the lead with an RBI single. Josh Lueke struck out the side in the bottom of the inning working around a hit and a walk, and 6-3 would be the final as the Bulls blew a 3-0 lead but rallied in the 9th to win it. Myers had a very promising game for Durham, not only drilling the big single but also drawing 2 walks, Anderson and Fontenot both went 2 for 4 with a walk, and Tim Beckham also had an encouraging game after his rough start to the season, going 1 for 2 with a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored. Back to Myers, he’s emulated his MLB counterpart Evan Longoria by not slamming a home run yet (although Longoria finally got his first on Monday), but he has managed a .297/.417/.351 line with 2 doubles, 9 RBI, and a great 11-9 strikeout to walk ratio in 10 games as he’s done a great job working on his plate discipline so far and now looks to get his power stroke going as he makes his final adjustments before ascending to the major leagues.

Double-A Southern League: Mobile BayBears (ARI) 13, Montgomery Biscuits 10

The Biscuits were down 11-0 and 13-3 various points in this game, but their valiant comeback fell short as Mobile won 13-10. Jake Thompson had an outing to forget for Montgomery, allowing 7 runs on 11 hits in 4 innings, and the bullpen was not much better to put the Biscuits to too large a hole to dig themselves out of. Todd Glaesmann was huge to the Biscuits’ comeback efforts, going 3 for 5 with a homer, a double, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, and Mikie Mahtook broke his tough stretch to begin the year by going 2 for 5 with a homer, a double, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored.

High-A Florida State League: St. Lucie Mets 6, Charlotte Stone Crabs 3

A horrific 6-run 6th ruined the day for Parker Markel and the Stone Crabs as they jumped ahead 3-0 but fell 6-3. Marker had a no-hitter through 5 innings, but that came crashing down violently in the 6th as the Mets got him for 6 runs on 5 hits capped by a Dustin Lawley 2-run home run. The disastrous 6th obviously overshadowed just how well Markel was pitching beforehand, but hopefully Markel can take the positives from his outing. Markel did strike out 5 while walking 2 in his 5.2 IP. On the offensive side, Hector Guevara slammed a first inning home run, Curt Casali went 2 for 4 with a run scored, and Taylor Motter went 1 for 2 with a double, a walk, and an RBI, but this game completely reversed course as Mets pitching held Charlotte to just one hit after the 3rd inning.